Living for Love
by meangenius
Summary: There's only one shard left, and Inu's group gangs up with Sesshie and a female demon to find it. Female being the key word, of course. Could Sesshie possibly fall in love? Surely not! InuKag, MirSan, SessOc. Complete!
1. The Search for the Last Shard

**Hi people! This is my first fic. Hope you like!**

Disclaimer: No, I don't own any of the Inu characters... sob actually, it's probably a good thing that I don't... I always lose everything I own...but still, it'd be fun, don't you think?

Oh, by the way, check out my sister's fanfic, too. Her username is socialkween (can't you tell we're related? meangenius and socialkween... they sure go together... NOT)

Ok, I'm going to stop blabbing now and start the story... so here it is!

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Inuyasha snarled angrily. The demon facing him down mirrored his growl, its eyes flashing. But before it could make a move, the hanyou darted forward and sliced it down the middle with Tetsusaiga. The beast let out one last long scream before it crumbled, leaving behind a shimmering Shikon shard in its wake.

Kagome knelt and picked it up, her miko powers purifying it instantly. As she let it merge with the rest of the jewel, a sigh escaped her lips. "There. Except for the shards Naraku and Kouga have, there should only be one left."

"The only question now is who can get to it first," Sango agreed.

"Do you know where it is, Kagome?" Shippo asked. "Can you sense it from here?"

"No," she answered, her voice troubled. "I've tried from everywhere we've been over the past few months, but I can't sense the shard anywhere."

"Well, come on, we've got to find it before Naraku does!" Inuyasha said impatiently. He quickly swept Kagome onto his back and was gone, leaving Sango and Miroku to grab Shippo and follow on Kirara.

Finally, late in the night, they stopped to rest for a while. Just as they had all settled down, Inuyasha felt a tiny prick on his cheek. Instinctively, he slapped himself and was surprised to see Myoga the flea in his palm, groaning as his eyes focused on the dog-demon above him.

"My Lord Inuyasha!" Myoga explained, jumping to his feet. "How wonderful to taste you again!"

"What do you want, flea?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"My Lord, I have heard that nearly all the Shikon shards have been accounted for. Tell me, how many are left? Aside from those that Naraku and Kouga have, of course."

"Only one, Myoga," Kagome answered. "We haven't been able to find it anywhere."

"Only one, eh? You're doing better than I'd thought. Hmm, I believe I know who holds the last one... yes, yes..."

"Well, spit it out!" Inuyasha snapped impatiently, his fingers threatening to squish the flea again. "Don't just sit there! Come on!"

"Be patient, Lord Inuyasha! Respect your elders! Now, where was I... ah, yes. I believe the last shard is kept in the possession of a certain Lady Raori."

"Who? I've never heard of anybody named Raori."

"Lady Raori is a powerful demon. She is a taiyoukai, and she rules over a land that is far, far to the south of here. However, rumor has it that she has ventured up north recently, and rumor also suggests that she has heard tell of the legendary Shikon shards and obtained one for herself. Unfortunately, from all I have heard of her, it will not be easy to get the shard back from her."

They thought over all this for a minute. Finally Inuyasha spoke up again. "Well, I say we go after her. What do you guys think?"

"I believe Inuyasha is right," Miroku nodded. "If we're lucky, we might be able to get her to give up the shard without a fight. You never know. I say we go for it."

"I agree," Sango said. "And we should do it soon. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that Naraku will pick it up – or even another demon that has the same interest in power. We should try to find this Lady Raori as quickly as we can and get the shard back."

Kagome sighed. "I guess you're right," she assented. "I'd hate to let Naraku get his hand on any more shards. Let's do it!" Shippo nodded along with her, excited to be going on another adventure.

"Okay!" Inuyasha said triumphantly as he turned back to Myoga. "Where is this Raori, then?"

"Er, hehe, that's the thing..." the flea stuttered nervously.

"You don't know," Kagome finished with a sigh.

"I don't. I've also never met her, so I wouldn't know her if I saw her."

"Oh, you're a lot of help," Inuyasha grumbled, flicking the flea away.

"Is there anyone who might know?" Kagome asked, catching Myoga as he quickly jumped away from theangry hanyou. "We could ask somebody, maybe..."

"I'm not sure," the flea said thoughtfully, considering her question. "I believe your father and Raori met once or twice, Lord Inuyasha, when Lord Inutaisho would hold meetings between taiyoukai. I believe that your father kept a record of each youkai that attended, in case he had need of contacting them at a later time. It is possible he kept a record of this Lady Raori."

"Even if he did, there's no way we could find it," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Actually," the flea said cautiously, "if you really were eager to find the shard, you could always... er... well, your brother _does_ live in your father's castle..."

"No!" Inuyasha shouted instantly, rounding on the flea. "We are _not_ going to ask Sesshomaru for help!"

"But, Lord Inuyasha—"

"What makes you think he'd _ever_ help us?" Inuyasha pointed out, still furious that the idea had come up at all. "Besides, even if he did help, he'd probably just take the shard for himself!"

"Sesshomaru has already said he has no interest in the jewel," Kagome pointed out. "I don't think we'd have to worry about him stealing any shards."

"And he hates Naraku, too," Shippo chipped in. "If finding the last shard would hurt Naraku, why wouldn't he help to find it?"

"Because it would be _me_ he'd be helping," Inuyasha seethed.

"Can't we at least give it a try?" Sango asked in exasperation.

"I am **not **going to Sesshomaru for help!" Inuyasha said angrily.

"Suit yourself," Myoga said hesitantly, "but if you don't, Naraku will probably get the shard first."

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. He _hated_ Sesshomaru, but he had to admit the truth... he hated Naraku more.

"Hey," Miroku said brightly. "Perhaps, if Sesshomaru helps us to find this Lady Raori, we can win her onto our side and persuade her to help us defeat Naraku. You say she is powerful, Myoga. Just how powerful do you think she really is?"

"With her help and Lord Sesshomaru's," the flea said confidently, "I am sure you could defeat the baboon hanyou with no difficulty at all. So, Lord Inuyasha? Are you willing to go to Lord Sesshomaru for help?"

"Fine," the hanyou grumbled. "But don't expert me to beg, or anything. And don't call him that. That little—"

"Well, then," Kagome interrupted, tired of his ranting, "let's get some sleep. We'll leave in the morning. Myoga, I guess you're going to leave?"

"Certainly not," the flea said, shaking his head. "I am interested now."

"No, he'll only leave when he thinks we're gonna get killed," Inuyasha muttered sourly. "Selfish coward..."

Myoga huffed. "I will stay with you," he said to Kagome.

"Thanks," she said, glaring at Inuyasha.

The dog-demon huffed. "Fine, stick around then, flea. I couldn't care less what you do." With that, he leapt into a nearby tree, grumbling quietly as he pondered what he had gotten himself into.

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Well? Was it ok? You want me to keep going? I've got some chapters already written, so I'll try to post as fast as I can. But I'll go faster if you review... _hint, hint_...

Anyway, remember to check out socialkween's story. She has dance during weekdays, so she doesn't post as much then, but on her first weekend she posted 8 chapters, so she's doing pretty well. Just one warning: she loves to write cliffhangers.

So, anyway, read and review! See ya!


	2. To Have and To Hold

Hey! Sorry it took so long for me to update… I was really busy, what with Thanksgiving and all… anyway, we've just finished off the turkey, so here goes!

I couldn't stand it anymore… I'm one of those people who believes that a fanfic isn't a fanfic unless Inu and Kagome are together, and I just HAD to make this the fluff chap… hope you like!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Inu. Or Miroku. Or Sesshie. In fact, since my OC isn't here yet, I don't own anybody. Oh, well… on with the story…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was late at night and the moon had risen high in the sky. There were only a few hours until dawn. Kagome rolled over, trying to sleep, but she had too much on her mind.

Everyone else was alseep besides her and Inuyasha. Kagome sighed and rolled over, glancing up at the silent form of the hanyou, sitting quietly with his eyes raised to the heavens, deep in thought.

A soft voice startled him a moment later. "Inuyasha?" Kagome said. He glanced down at her, his golden eyes focusing in the darkness to see that she had moved to the base of his tree and was sitting up, her eyes on him. "Can't sleep?"

"No," he answered quietly.

"Me neither." She was silent for a moment. "Listen, thanks for agreeing to this. I know how much you hate your brother, and it's nice to see that you'll do this for us."

"It's for the jewel," he muttered crossly.

Kagome glanced sadly back up at him again, her eyes reflecting her disappointment. "Oh."

Inuyasha flinched at the simple hurt in that one word, but before he could apologize, Kagome had risen and started to leave. "I'm going for a walk," she murmured quietly.

He jumped down in front of her, his gaze apologetic. "I'm sorry, Kagome," he said quickly.

She pressed past him, fed up with his constant obsession. "No, you're not," she shot back over her shoulder. "It's always about the jewel. That's all I am to you – a shard detector. That's all I'll ever be."

He whipped around and grabbed her wrist. "Kagome," he said desperately, "that's not true. I know I say that a lot more than I ought to, and I'm sorry." She didn't turn around, but listened as he went on. "You were the first one I could trust, the only person I could talk to. You didn't see me as a hanyou, a half-breed, you just saw me as me. I was thankful for that. I just…"

"Didn't have a good way of showing it?" Kagome supplied, turning back to smile slightly at him.

He moved his hand to hold hers and squeezed it. "Yeah," he agreed, his eyes begging her to believe him. "It's not easy for me to say that I care about anyone, 'cause I'm not used to anyone caring about me."

Kagome smiled and cupped his face in one hand. "That's changed now," she said comfortingly. "You've got us to count on. We care about you. Even Shippo. You know that." Inuyasha smiled slightly, his eyes never leaving hers, caught up in the feel of her cool skin against his. He knew, deep down, his feelings for her, but it was so hard to say them out loud.

"Kagome…" he started, his hand moving up to cover hers. She hesitated, then moved a step back.

"Don't start this," she pleaded nervously. Occasionally he would start to show some affection for her, when he couldn't help it any more, but she wasn't welcoming the thought at the moment. "We both know you love Kikyou."

Inuyasha winced at her tone of voice. "Kikyou…" he said thoughtfully. "The Kikyou that roams the lands today is not the Kikyou I loved fifty years ago, Kagome. She's changed. She no longer has the spirit or the cheer she did back then. I promised to protect her because I owe it to her, after all she did, but I don't love her."

He hesitated for a split second. "I love you, Kagome," he said finally, and those four words took more courage than facing down any demon in the world did.

Kagome's eyes widened. She blinked once, twice, and suddenly broke into a smile and threw herself towards him, clutching him tightly in a breathtaking embrace. He returned the hug, stroking her ebony hair. When her head turned up to look at him, he met her blue-gray eyes with his golden ones and smiled back at her. Suddenly, to his surprise, she leaned up on tiptoe and kissed him.

He froze, too amazed to react for a second. Then he pulled her tighter against him and closed his eyes in contentment. When she broke away, beaming up at him, his eyes gentled and he buried his face in her hair, enjoying her scent.

He gently trailed kisses up the side of her neck, to her throat, all the way up to her jaw. She shivered slightly, her eyes closed, savoring the feeling. Finally his lips met hers again in a gentle, chaste kiss before he broke off, his eyes smiling down at her.

She sighed happily. Inuyasha swiftly scooped her up and leapt into the tree he was in before, settling down on a branch a short ways above the ground. He sat against the trunk with Kagome in front of him, leaning against his chest comfortably. He rested his head on her shoulder, gazing up at the stars, his hands around her waist. She let a contented smile cross her face and turned her head, kissing his cheek softly before turning back to the stars. He held her tighter against him, his love bounding higher with every move she made, reaching distances he'd never thought it could.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Well? Too much fluff? Too little? Review, people, review!

Anyway, before I go on, remember to check out my sister's fanfic when you get time. She's socialkween (the name fits her more perfectly than you could imagine). It's called Captive. She's been making me read it, and it's not all that bad.

Ok, I might as well start writing the next chapter… r&r pleez! Bye!


	3. When In Need

I'm back! Actually, I'm writing this less than five minutes after I posted the last chapter, so technically I never really left… but whatever! I'm back anyway!

Hope you like this chappie. I decided that I'd had enough fluff for a while, so you'll have to wait a while before I get to Sango and Miroku. Haha… anyway, r&r!

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody. Yet.

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When morning rose, Miroku yawned and stretched to see Sango at the campfire, making breakfast. Her eyes glanced up at him for a moment, amused. She placed a finger on her lips and pointed upwards. 

His eyes followed her gaze to see Inuyasha and Kagome, still settled as they were the night before. Miroku let a grin cross his face as he made his way over to Sango. "About time, too," he muttered under his breath. "I started to wonder whether or not we needed to butt in and **force** those two together."

Sango laughed quietly. "Yeah," she agreed, "they're the perfect match, if you ask me."

Miroku nodded along, his hand unconsciously creeping closer and closer…

Sango whipped around and smacked him. "HENTAI!" she yelped, forgetting Inuyasha and Kagome in her mad moment.

They jerked awake, Kagome nearly falling out of the tree. She added to the morning with a barely muffled cry. Inuyasha twisted around and caught her hand, gently lowering her down to the ground, his eyes boring furiously into Miroku's, which were still crossed with the force of Sango's blow. The exterminator rushed to help Kagome, a blush crossing her face. "Sorry, Kagome," she said quickly.

Inuyasha jumped down and stalked towards the fire, his fists clenched. "Stupid houshi," he mumbled, his eyes blazing angrily. Miroku wisely got out of his way.

Shaking her head, Kagome stretched. "Where are we headed today?" she asked. "Where would Sesshomaru be, Inuyasha? Have you got any idea?"

Myoga, Kirara, and Shippo ambled over. The flea spoke up, jumping onto the fire-cat. "You can just head into his lands and he'll show up to attack you for trespassing," he suggested. Inuyasha, between huge gulps of ramen, turned his amber eyes on the flea.

"Good idea, old man, but you're coming with us." Myoga winced, but nodded.

"How far are we from the border?" Miroku asked, sitting as far away from Sango as he could manage. He was not in the mood for another slap.

"Only a day's walk," Inuyasha answered.

"Good." When they had finished eating and packed up again, Kagome hoisted her pack up and nodded to her friends. "Let's go."

They walked for the whole day, looking out for any sign of Sesshomaru, but it wasn't until that afternoon that they passed into the border. After that point, Kagome's hand remained clutching her bow. Miroku gripped his staff, his right hand clenched in case the wind tunnel needed use. Sango's hiraikotsu was held at the ready, and Shippo even had a transforming leaf in his hand, just in case. Kirara had transformed into her larger form, her claws out and her teeth bared. Myoga was busy hiding in Inuyasha's hair as the hanyou gripped his sword hilt, his eyes flitting about from one end of the trail to another.

At last, night approached. The sun was setting, its last few rays barely touching the lands.

It was at this time, when they were just beginning to relax, that Sesshomaru chose to appear.

Inuyasha snarled. "Finally!" he muttered as a white blur shot from a nearby tree towards them. He held up the transformed Tetsusaiga to parry Toujikin and throw his brother back. His brother's evil sword hissed angrily as Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, glaring at his half-brother.

"Calm down, Fluffy," Inuyasha spat, and to the taiyoukai's surprise, the hanyou sheathed his sword. "We didn't come all this way to start a fight."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "Oh?"

Myoga hopped down in front of the youkai. "Lord Sesshomaru," he started respectfully, "do you remember, by any chance, someone by the name of Lady Raori?"

Sesshomaru slowly sheathed Toujikin, thinking over the name. "I do not," he replied, his eyes settling on the flea in mild curiousity. "Why? Who is this Lady Raori and how does she concern me?"

Myoga began his explanation. "She is a taiyoukai, ruling over a land far south of here. We have heard rumors that she has ventured up north and obtained a Shikon shard. We wish to get it back from her, but we do not know where she is. I do recall that she attended a meeting held by your father, and he always kept records of those that entered his realm. We came to you to ask if you would help us to find some record of Lady Raori."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. "You assume much, flea," he said, his voice filled with hostility. "Why would I bother to help you?"

Kagome matched his glare evenly. "Because if you don't, and Naraku manages to complete the jewel, he'll have enough power to take over your lands," she said sternly. "He'll also probably kill Jaken and that little human girl that tags along with you… Rin, I believe her name is?"

Sesshomaru snarled angrily at her. "He would not be strong enough to do that."

"He's already just about equal to you," Kagome shot back, amazing the others. Inuyasha gripped Tetsusaiga, sure that Sesshomaru would lunge for her in an instant, but the taiyoukai merely listened as she continued. "Once he has all the shards, he'll be at least ten times stronger. And don't bother telling me you couldn't care less what he does, 'cause I know you do."

Sesshomaru hesitated. She was right, and he knew it. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember what his father had done with the files he used to keep on the other taiyoukai. "I believe that my father's records remain in the castle," he said quietly. "I recall having gone through them a few times in the past. With a little time, I believe I could find them again." His eyes opened again, settling on each of them in turn.

Inuyasha slowly spoke, knowing that this was the only way. "Will you take us to the castle?" he asked.

Sesshomaru glanced at him, his surprise barely showing on his face. For a moment they thought he would refuse, but at last he turned and set off at a walk.

Inuyasha let the ghost of a smile cross his face.

Myoga blinked in surprise as the taiyoukai strode away. "What? What's going on?" he asked, confused. "He's just leaving? How rude! I ought to—"

"We're s'posed to follow him, flea," Inuyasha hissed under his breath.

"Oh." The flea decided to shut up from then on, choosing instead to sit on Inuyasha's shoulder and mope as they set off after the quiet youkai lord.

Many thoughts whizzed through Sesshomaru's mind. He wondered vaguely why he was bothering to help his half-brother, but the answer floated across his consciousness before he could even ask himself the question. And he knew at once that he had no other choice. Too many things were in danger for him to simply turn his back.

His lands.

His pride.

And Rin.

He knew that he would never give up any of these, especially the last. He would fight for himself, for his lands, for his ward, even if it meant standing alongside Inuyasha. There were some things you had to put up with in order to get what you wanted. He was cold, yes, but he was also intelligent, and he could see that this was the only way. The evil hanyou was usurping too much power as it was. He knew he could not defeat Naraku alone, and he had no friends that he could ask to assist him.

But these people had come to him willingly, and his half-brother had lowered his pride to ask the taiyoukai for help. He could do the same and give them that help in return.

Who knew what could happen if he didn't?

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Sesshomaru shook himself. Glancing up, he saw that an entire hour had passed, and no one had said a word. They were moving slower than he would've liked. Had he not been traveling with this lot, he could be there by now and have already found the documents. In his impatience, he looked back at the others.

"Can you go any faster?" he asked, his voice completely even.

Inuyasha looked up, startled. "Yeah," he said, struggling to keep his attitude under control, remembering that his brother was their ally thus far in this. "Are we close?"

Sesshomaru nodded as he watched the girl situate herself on her half-brother's back. The monk, the kitsune, and the exterminator settled themselves on the fire cat and they all rose into the air, following the taiyoukai as he headed for his castle. Perhaps he could get the two female humans to keep Rin company while he worked to find his father's records. That would help, for the child had a talent for distracting him from his work.

As they took to the air, he glanced back, keeping his brother and the others in sight to be sure he didn't go too fast. There was no sense in losing them now.

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So? You like? That was a long one... 

I enjoyed writing this chappie… and I'll write more really quickly so you won't have to wait! I did always hate having to wait all the time for people to update. I definitely don't want to be one of those people who waits for forever to publish each chapter. So here you go – read this, and I'll have the next one up by tomorrow! I promise! r&r!


	4. In the Home of a Taiyoukai

Hi again! Sorry this didn't come out for a while, had some kind of bug and wouldn't let people update for a little while. Anyway, here's the next chapter… hope you like! And pleez, pleez, _pleez_ review!

* * *

That night, they stopped to rest for a while. Sesshomaru quietly offered to keep watch, seating himself in a tall tree and watching as the others settled down and slept. He watched them until the morning. They woke and ate a small breakfast, moving on only a few minutes after sunrise. 

They reached the castle around midafternoon the next day. Inuyasha sighed as he stared up at it, memories of the old days flashing before his eyes. Kagome stared up at it in amazement. The castle was far larger than any she had ever seen in her time. "This is it?" she said in awe.

Sesshomaru answered without turning to look back. "Yes."

"You live _here?"_ Shippo asked, his eyes widening as he stared up at the huge building. "That's awesome!"

Inuyasha groaned as Sesshomaru shot the kitsune an amused look.

As Sesshomaru quietly opened the huge double doors and entered his home, a delighted cry arose from the brightly lit hall just inside. Rin shot towards them, launching herself at the demon lord and wrapping herself around his leg, too short to give him a proper hug. Jaken followed her, huffing and puffing as he tried to keep up. The toad narrowed his eyes at the sight of Inuyasha, but kept his mouth shut, knowing that if he displeased his master, only bad would come of it.

"Rin has missed Sesshomaru-sama!" the girl said happily, her trademark grin in place. "Rin was lonely in the castle with Jaken. He is smelly!"

The group watched in amazement as Sesshomaru's eyes softened slightly at the sight of the little human girl. He placed a clawed hand atop her tiny head in recognition and walked inside, watching as she pranced around him, following him through the doors and into the massive hall, chittering about everything she did while he was gone. Inuyasha's jaw had long since been unraveled to the floor.

The hanyou let Kagome down off his back and cautiously entered. The castle was just as he remembered, gigantic and beautifully crafted, made by his father a long time ago.

Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder, his eyes venturing to where they still stood at his front door, gazing around in awe. "Come," he said softly. "Inuyasha, I believe you can find your way around the castle well enough. We will remain here until I have found a reference to this Lady Raori, and then you will leave and I will have nothing more to do with you. For the moment, you are free to wander the castle, but if you so much as shatter a single vase I will slaughter you where you stand."

With that he was gone, Rin and Jaken scampering after him and leaving the friends to themselves.

"I take it he's not going to help us defeat Naraku, then," Sango said with a sigh. "If only he'd come with us, I might believe we had a chance."

"Yes," Myoga said with a sigh, finally speaking up from his perch on Kirara's ear. "Yes, I may have believed you had a chance with him. Alas, I suppose it was never meant to be…"

Inuyasha sighed. "All right, all right," he said, glaring at them. "I get your point. I'll ask Sesshomaru whether or not he'll come with us. You guys go outside, I'll meet you in a minute."

They nodded and went back outside as he followed his half-brother up the steps, dreading having to go to him for help. He still thought they were better off doing this on their own… but he'd never considered asking his brother to join forces with him in an effort to destroy Naraku, and now he had to admit it sounded pretty good. He could always just kill his brother when they were finished, anyway…

Sesshomaru glanced up as a knock came at the door. He sniffed slightly and narrowed his eyes as his nose told him who was standing just outside. "What, Inuyasha?" he asked, turning back to the desk he was searching.

The hanyou entered, shutting the door behind him. "Well," he said, wishing briefly that he didn't have to do this and cursing Myoga for the idea, "not that I care, but the others wanted you to come with us to defeat Naraku." He spoke quickly so that he could finish before the taiyoukai had a chance to interrupt. "See, they think we can't beat him on our own, so they wondered if you'd consider joining forces with us…" he trailed off under the cold stare of his half-brother, glancing down at the floor.

Sesshomaru blinked in surprise. He instantly saw through the 'not that I care' act. Inuyasha did care. He knew as well as anyone that as many times as they tried, they couldn't defeat Naraku on their own. They needed him to help them. And if Inuyasha was stooping low enough to ask him to team up with them on this, they were obviously desperate. He thought sadly of Rin, and his mind flashed back to the time when he had been wounded and she'd come to him every day to try and help… he remembered her toothy grin and found himself thankful that he'd saved her, thankful that she was still here… unwilling to lose her. He knew then that, just as he'd thought before when the group asked him to help, he couldn't decline them. For her sake, at the very least.

Inuyasha, assuming the worst at the length of his brother's silence, finally turned away with a sigh. Just as his hand came to rest on the doorknob, Sesshomaru spoke.

"I shall consider it."

Inuyasha glanced back in surprise. Sesshomaru's stoic expression hadn't changed, but his eyes seemed to hold less hatred for the hanyou than usual. Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief and was gone, glad that everything had gone well. He was both glad and furious that his brother was coming with them, but he knew it was the wisest thing to do. Your enemy's enemy is your friend, right?

Right…

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It was late in the night when Sesshomaru finally found the files. He sat back tiredly and sifted through them, a sharp eye out for any references to the taiyoukai Lady Raori. At last he found the sheet designated to her. As was the custom, each taiyoukai had exactly one page about themselves held for later use. Sighing and getting to his feet, Sesshomaru sought out Inuyasha and his companions, scanning the page as he walked.

Apparently, this Lady Raori was the taiyoukai of a land to the far south, just as Myoga had told him. She was a powerful demon, respected among the other taiyoukai as one of the only females that ruled without a mate by her side. Her youkai form, which she seldom took, was that of a wolf. She was trustworthy, Inutaisho had noted, and honorable as well. She was not one to give up without a good, long fight.

Shaking his head, he stepped outside, following his nose towards his half-brother. If they were going to try and wrestle the shard away from her, it sounded like they'd have a hard time. They probably would end up needing his help in the end.

Kagome glanced up as Sesshomaru strode out the doors and approached them. She got up and walked over to him, ignoring Inuyasha's low growl at seeing her so close to the taiyoukai. Reaching out, she accepted the lone sheet of paper and glanced it over. The others crowded around behind her to read over her shoulder. She glanced over what Sesshomaru had already seen and went on to the important part, reading it aloud.

"Lady Raori lives in a large castle, much like this one, far to the south of here in her lands. Because she has the farthest to travel out of all the taiyoukai, she has been granted ownership of a small mansion slightly south of my own for the time being. The Lady shall be granted use of this facility whenever she is in the area."

Kagome glanced up at them. "It sounds like our best bet is to head for this 'small mansion' your father gave to her, Sesshomaru. Is there some other record that could tell us where it is - a map, or something?"

The taiyoukai shook his head. "My father would never map out where a taiyoukai's residence was – were the map to be discovered by an enemy, they could track down the building and, recognizing its importance, tear it to the ground. The structure he spoke of undoubtedly still stands, but it is highly unlikely that its whereabouts is to be found on any written document."

"Oh." Kagome sounded disappointed.

Sesshomaru lifted his eyes to the treeline and gazed south, calling on old memories to aid him. "It matters not. I already know where this mansion is. It has been there for a long while – I was unaware it was in use. Should I try, I have no doubt that I could locate it without difficulty."

"You'll come with us, then?" Shippo asked hopefully.

The taiyoukai glanced at them and nodded silently. He hated having to stick around with these people more than he had to, but he knew this had to be done. Naraku had to be defeated. And that could only be accomplished with his help.

"Thank you," Sango said gratefully, bowing her head to him. He merely turned and strode back into the castle, ignoring them. They chose to follow him inside, wondering where he was going.

The demon lord spoke to Jaken and Rin for a moment, explaining that he would be leaving and that he was unsure when he would return. They nodded, Rin a little tearfully, and without further ado he turned and faced the group. "Come," he said quietly. "We will leave now."

"Now?" Miroku asked in surprise. "It's dark already! Shouldn't we stay the night?"

Sesshomaru glanced at the monk, his expression as cold as ever. "I had forgotten," he said disdainfully. "You humans do not travel well in the dark. Very well, houshi, we will remain here tonight. We will leave at sunrise." He turned back around, striding inside and leaving them to themselves. Rin, overjoyed that he was going to stay for a while longer, skipped after him happily as Jaken struggled to keep up.

"Come on," Inuyasha said, bounding up the stairs. "I think the bedrooms are this way."

He was right, and the group split up for the night. Miroku quickly nabbed the room next to Sango's. Shippo darted inside the room he thought was the biggest, gazing around him in awe at the fanciful decorations. Kagome quickly leaned over and kissed Inuyasha on the cheek before following the kitsune inside. He watched her go, a content smile on his face, and disappeared inside the room next to hers.

* * *

Just for all you who don't know, Shippo is a kitsune – I think it translates to 'fox demon' or something like that. Hanyou means half-demon. I don't use Japanese much, but sometimes I'll use a couple of words. Just telling you so you don't get confused or anything! 


	5. Naraku vs Sesshomaru

Thanx a ton for reviewing, judi! Here's the next chapter – I'm hurrying as much as I can!

Yes, socialkween, you're right… in the end of chapter 3, it says that Sesshomaru "watched the girl situate herself on _her_ half-brother's back" – I meant to put "_his _half-brother's back". Oopsie!

Disclaimer (forgot to put this in the last chapter): I don't own any of the Inu characters. I _do_ own Lady Raori, but she hasn't come in yet… don't worry, I'll have her come in on the next chapter!

Thanx for reading!

* * *

They woke early the next day. Rin joined them at breakfast, but Sesshomaru chose not to show up. The little girl informed them that the youkai lord didn't eat human food and thought that his time would better be spent with the servants, instructing them on what to do until his return. 

He came in just as they were finishing and stood quietly by the door to wait for them. When they were ready to go, he swung the doors open and leapt into the air, followed by Inuyasha and Kirara, who carried the others. They soared away into the sunshine, following Sesshomaru as he sped away, seeking out the mansion that was owned by Lady Raori.

The taiyoukai led the way, pausing only once to fall back and speak to Myoga. "I am fairly sure I know where we are going," he said quietly, "but I do not know if the demon we seek will be there. That mansion was given to her a long time ago – she could very easily have forgotten about it by now. She could be anywhere."

The flea nodded. "That's true, Lord Sesshomaru, but your guess is as good as mine. She could be anywhere, so we will try everywhere. We must find her soon."

With a nod, the taiyoukai sped up, ending the conversation and setting his course south.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

At one point in their journey, Shippo caught sight of the poison insects Naraku usually summoned. He pointed them out to Kagome, who bit her lip worriedly at the sight. They couldn't afford to let Naraku figure out where they were – he could follow them to Lady Raori and get to the shard before them. It was too much of a risk.

She quickly told Inuyasha about the wasps. He yelled out to Sesshomaru. "Get down, Fluffy!" he yelled quietly as he dropped down below the tree level. Sesshomaru glanced down at them curiously, but chose to follow. Kirara came right after him, dropping down to land beside Inuyasha.

When he had landed, Sesshomaru fixed them with a stare. "Why have we stopped?"

"The wasps," Sango answered, pointing up to the sky. "You saw them, right? They are spies for Naraku. We'll have to travel on land until we can lose them."

Sesshomaru nodded, his tail re-curling around his shoulder. Just as he was beginning to head off towards the direction of Lady Raori's mansion again, a loud, deranged laughing filled the clearing.

Weapons were drawn instantly at the sound. Kagome's bow and arrow appeared in her hand, Tetsusaiga was raised and transformed, Miroku's staff jangled softly, and hiraikotsu was raised upon Sango's ready back. Shippo tensed and Kirara shot out her claws with a sharp snarl. Toujikin sat in its sheath, unneeded. The taiyoukai was fast enough to bring it out if the need arose. At the moment, he appeared unnervingly unfazed, which was a key in his form of battle. No matter what, the enemy could not see his emotion.

Naraku stepped out of the woods, not ten feet from them. "I see you've decided to go along with your brother, Sesshomaru. How endearing." He chuckled maniacally. "It will only make killing all of you so much more fun."

A huge tentacle rose from the ground, its point heading for Inuyasha. The half-demon leapt up, chopping off the limb before it could touch Kagome. A dozen more replaced it.

At once, Sesshomaru disappeared, moving faster than the others' eyes could follow. He randomly cut through any bonds that hindered the others, never stopping to be caught by them himself. He was too fast for the hanyou to catch, and Naraku knew this. Instead of bothering with the youkai lord, he concentrated on the ones in this little group that couldn't defend themselves quite so easily.

Miroku's eyes widened suddenly as a sharp tentacle rose up and catapulted itself at him. His staff rose to his defense, but he knew he couldn't stop the force of the blow. Just as he was readying himself for the terrible blow, ignoring Sango's terrified cry from behind him, a blur of motion crossed his vision.

The arm fell, lifeless to the ground. He vaguely saw Sesshomaru nod evenly before disappearing again, off to another part of the clearing.

Smiling slightly in gratitude at remaining among the living, the monk turned and lopped off an arm that snuck up behind him. He knew he would damage Sesshomaru's pride by saying it aloud, and Inuyasha would probably kill him for it, but he was thankful that the youkai had joined them. When he caught Sango's relieved eye, he could tell she felt the same way. This battle was going a **whole **lot better than any they had been in before, and they all knew it, even Naraku.

Meanwhile, Kagome was off to one side with the fire-cat and the kitsune. Kirara fought in front of them to offer some protection. Shippo clung to Kagome's shoulder, doing his best to burn away the few appendages that dared approach them. Meanwhile, she had her arrows out, lending them all her power as she aimed straight for Naraku, knowing that if she could hit him she would help Inuyasha to defeat him. And so it was that when she loosed her powerful arrow, and it slammed into Naraku's chest, she was overjoyed. So was Inuyasha, and he sent her a look of thankfulness at their enemy's painful cry.

To her horror, as Inuyasha was concentrating on her, Naraku lashed out and send a blow directly for him, his wounds bleeding profusely as he glared intently at the dog-demon.

She had just enough time to yell his name before he turned and saw the tentacle hurtling towards him. Sango and Miroku gasped at the sight and Naraku cackled evilly, thankful to finally be rid of the annoying half-demon. His eyes took in the three humans, the kitsune, and the fire-cat, all with horrified expressions. He began to smirk, but the expression froze on his face. Then… where was…

A blur came before everyone's eyes and they stared, blinking in surprise. Sesshomaru was standing over his half-brother, his eyes on Naraku. Inuyasha was no worse for the wear, but was staring at Naraku.

The evil hanyou was gasping, Toujikin having embedded itself straight into his heart where Kagome's arrow had just barely missed before. The puppet crumbled, leaving behind a doll, which Shippo promptly squished under his paw. The kitsune then turned to stare at the taiyoukai in amazement.

Inuyasha slowly rose, his eyes on those of the youkai before him. He suddenly had the odd feeling that, after all these years of fighting, Sesshomaru wasn't quite as cold as he was made out to be. His expression could make you think otherwise, but now the hanyou had his doubts about his older brother. When he had realized that he was going to die, the last thing on his mind was the hope that Sesshomaru would save him. No matter the situation, the thought would've never occurred to him. But it had happened.

Very, very slowly, he bowed his head the tiniest fraction of an inch towards the stony-faced demon lord. And, to his further amazement, Sesshomaru's eyes softened slightly and he nodded his own head regally in return.

The impossible had happened.

Without another word, the taiyoukai turned to leave, leading the way towards their destination, not bothering to look back. With another startled glance at Inuyasha, the others followed him, the events of the battle still flickering in their minds.

An hour or two later brought them to the small mansion they were looking for. It was much smaller and more modest than Sesshomaru's, and they could see that it wasn't nearly as old and used. They landed at the front gate and Sesshomaru quickly strode through, making his way up to the front door. The place had an almost eerie feel to it, and it looked deserted from the outside, but as it looked to be their best bet, they decided to give it a try.

When no one answered their knock, Sesshomaru gently pushed the door open to reveal the great hall. They looked around, searching for anyone that could possibly direct them to the Lady, but they saw no one.

Sesshomaru, trying to remember anything about this place, led them through the hall and deeper into the dark building. Doors were scattered on either side of the long hallway. They were all unlocked, leading to rooms of all shapes and sizes, but they were all empty. There wasn't anyone anywhere in this place, or if there was, they were sure hiding themselves well.

Suddenly a voice rang out clearly from behind them, echoing through the hallway.

"Should I bother to ask what you're doing here?"

* * *

Another translation I forgot in the last chapter: a taiyoukai is a demon that rules over their own lands – like a demon lord, I guess. Sesshomaru is taiyoukai of the Western Lands. My sister asked if the word would be the same for a female as it is for a male, and I don't know, so I just assume that "taiyoukai" refers to both femaleand male. If I'm wrong, please let me know and I'll change it! Sorry! 


	6. Lady Raori

Hello again! Sorry it took me so long to update… It's a long story, so I won't go into it, but from now on I'll do my best to post as often as I can!

By the way, I'm thinking of posting a Wolf's Rain fanfic, a Lord of the Rings fanfic, and maybe a Harry Potter one (one of my friends made me start one and I got into it – it's actually kinda fun to write those). If any of you think I should bother to post them, tell me… which means review, review, **REVIEW**!!!

Okay, I'll let you read now…

Oh, by the way, I might've already said this, but my sister – socialkween – has finished her story. It's called Captive, and it's a Teen Titans story. If you've seen the show, you should read it – it's pretty good. She's writing a sequel now. Check it out.

Ok, _now_ I'll let you read… Oh, wait, never mind. Disclaimer first!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu or any of the other characters… except Lady Raori, who comes in for this chapter.

Ok, _**now** _I'll let you read. Enjoy!

* * *

"Should I bother to ask what you're doing here?"

The voice rang out clearly from behind them. They spun around in surprise to see a young lady standing there. She was regarding them with calm silver eyes. Her face bore two black stripes on either cheek. Her brown, wavy hair was pulled back from her face. She had a strange air about her, as if they could all feel the power emanating from her. Their senses cried 'demon!' the moment they saw her, but something told them this was the one they were searching for.

Miroku gripped his staff, readying for a possible fight. "Are you the Lady Raori?" he asked.

She nodded. "I am," she said, glancing at him before looking over the others, mildly curious. "Now, would you kindly tell me who you are and why you have so rudely trespassed into my home?"

"We've come for your shard," Inuyasha growled. "Give it to us now, or we'll be forced to fight you for it."

The demon before them raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Do you refer to a Shikon shard? I am afraid you have been misinformed. I carry no such trinket."

"Yeah, right, like we're gonna believe that," Inuyasha hissed. "Tell us where it is!"

Raori bristled angrily. "You dare call me a liar?" she said icily.

"Yeah, I do," he snarled back at her.

Before he could even blink, Raori had blurred into motion, landing a quick punch in his gut and smirking as he yelped in surprise. He immediately kicked out, but she leapt over his head and landed behind him, swiftly turning and striking him in the back with a well-placed kick. He was pushed to all fours on the ground. An angry snarl escaped his lips and he spun around, whipping out Tetsusaiga in anger.

Raori calmly faced the hanyou, eyeing him disdainfully. "I already told you," she said coldly, "I carry no shard. I will fight you if you wish, but you will gain nothing from it."

"Inuyasha," Kagome said quickly, "she's telling the truth. I can't sense a shard anywhere in this building."

Cursing, the half-breed sheathed his sword, feeling embarrassment take over. He turned to glare at Myoga, attempting to lay the blame on someone other than himself. The flea swallowed nervously, leaping over to Kagome for protection. If only he hadn't listened to those stupid rumors…

In an attempt to redeem himself, Myoga spoke to Raori. "Please, allow me to apologize, Lady," the flea said, bowing to her. "This is my fault. I had heard a rumor that you were in possession of the last shard, and I chose to trust the one who told me such. Alas, my age must be catching up with me…"

"Do you mind?" Inuyasha muttered, sending the flea another death glare.

Sesshomaru stood to one side, annoyed to no end with his half-brother. Not only did he threaten the taiyoukai of this house, but he did it with a false accusation. How much more disrespectful could you get? _Then again,_ the demon lord thought to himself, _Inuyasha never respected anyone, so this should come as no surprise._

"Lady Raori," he said quietly, gaining the demon's attention. She glanced at him, her eyes flashing slightly with hostility. He matched her stare with one of his own and spoke. "We are searching for the last of the Shikon shards. Have you any idea where it is?"

"I do not," she replied coldly, still distrustful of these intruders. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like you to leave my home in peace. Go search for your shard somewhere else."

"We don't have anywhere else to search," Sango said glumly. "The only clue we had was Myoga's rumor."

Raori glanced at the flea, who still had an apologetic gaze on his face. "From whom did you hear this rumor, flea?" she asked, slightly curious. "I cannot think of a reason that anyone would send you to me. I have not been known to collect these shards."

"I heard the rumor from another demon," Myoga replied. "He did not say his name, but he appeared in human form. I believe he was from the north. I asked him about the shards, and he told me that you had one. I chose to believe him."

"A demon from the north," Raori murmured thoughtfully. "I should've known it would be him…" She glanced up at them. "I am not the one with the shard. It is another demon, another taiyoukai, one with lands far north of here. I believe he is the one that you saw, flea, spreading those rumors. No doubt he did so as to send away any shard-hunters that may come looking for it." She glanced pointedly at Inuyasha, who lowered his eyes sheepishly, knowing that he was one of those shard-hunters who'd been tricked.

"Do you know exactly where this demon lives?" Sango asked.

Raori narrowed her eyes. "What would you do if I said yes?"

"We'd ask you to take us there," the exterminator said hesitantly.

"Then no, I don't know where he is."

"Please!" Kagome said desperately. "You have to help us! This is really, _really_ important!"

"Power always is," Raori said coldly.

"We're not trying to find the shards to get power," Shippo said quickly.

"There is a hanyou that goes by the name of Naraku," Miroku explained, "and he has been our enemy for some time now. We are in a constant battle with him. He strives to gain shards of the jewel, and so we go out after them to stop him from obtaining too many and getting too powerful."

"If we don't get the shard soon, he'll take it," Kagome finished, praying that Raori would believe them.

The demon swept her eyes over the group before they settled on Kagome again. "All right, miko," she said with a sigh. "I will hear you out. This story sounds too far-fetched to be made up."

Kagome smiled gratefully. "Naraku is a half-demon that's after the jewel shards. He created a hole in Miroku's hand that will consume him unless we beat Naraku. He manipulated Sango's brother to kill her family and is using him now to try and kill her. Fifty years ago, he turned Inuyasha and a priestess – Kikyo – against each other, killing Kikyo and pinning Inuyasha to a tree for fifty years with one of her arrows. Because we all hate Naraku, we came together to try and kill him, but he's proved himself way too powerful for that. We started to race for the jewel shards instead, since they were what kept making him more powerful.

"Naraku is extremely strong – he can make other demons out of his own body. He made two sisters, Kagura and Kanna, who we've fought quite a few times. They're still out there, doing what he orders them to. Along with them, he can make puppets of himself, which are also strong. Most of the time we just end up fighting a puppet, while Naraku sits safe in his castle somewhere else, watching.

"Anyway, the point is that he's really, really strong. With the rest of the jewel in his grasp, he could easily kill off every existing taiyoukai and take over all their lands – including yours – therefore controlling everything. If you help us, though, we might be able to defeat him."

"Wait a minute," Raori interrupted, narrowing her eyes. "I thought you were only asking me to take you to the shard. Now you want me to fight this Naraku, too?"

"It would be really nice of you," Kagome said hopefully. "I mean, getting the last shard before him would be so awesome, but still… it'd be great if you could help us fight Naraku, too. Otherwise he could destroy everything. It's for the good of the rest of the world." She glanced at Sesshomaru approvingly. "Lord Sesshomaru agreed to help, even though he normally hates us, because he knows that if he doesn't, Naraku could take over his lands and kill off everything he cares about. Maybe you could join us, too."

Raori glanced at Sesshomaru in surprise. She hadn't recognized him when he spoke to her before, but she knew his name well. "Lord Sesshomaru," she said thoughtfully. "You're Inutaisho's boy, aren't you?"

He nodded.

She glanced at Inuyasha. "And you're his brother," she said, recognition dawning in her eyes.

"Half-brother," the hanyou snarled. "And don't remind me."

For a moment, they caught a glimpse of amusement in her eyes, but as soon as it came it was gone again. "I suppose I will do as you ask, miko," she said, glancing back at Kagome. "For both my lands and for the memory of your father, who was the greatest taiyoukai of his time." She nodded at Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

"Thank you _so _much," Kagome gushed. "You have no idea how grateful we are."

"So, first of all, will you lead us to the shard?" Miroku asked.

Raori sighed. "I suppose. I may as well warn you, though, he will not give it up without a fight, and he will not give up a fight until he is dead. It will be no easy task to retrieve the shard from him."

"You talk as though you already know him," Kagome pointed out.

"Yes, we've met once or twice. We never did get along. He usually keeps to himself, though, and not much is known about him. He's known to be powerful, that's one thing – so other demons tend to keep away from him. His temper isn't something you want unleashed on you. His lands, which consist of a wide range of mountains in the north, are nearly deserted. This is because everything, humans and demons and animals alike, fear him."

There was silence for a moment. Finally Inuyasha spoke up. "_I _don't fear him," he said with a smirk. "We'll beat him. I bet we've seen worse, anyway. I don't see how this guy could be too much of a challenge."

"I think you'll be surprised," Raori shot back. "You have fought demons, true enough, and defeated many. But I have heard of the battles you have had with your brother – excuse me, your half-brother. You have fought him innumerable times. Yet still he stands, unscathed."

(A/N: I know, I know, that isn't really true. He's not unscathed. I remember that Inuyasha cut off Sesshomaru's arm off a while back – in one of the first books. Well, in this story he's got it back. Sorry, I know I should've said this before, but I forgot. It's just so much easier if everybody's got the same number of limbs, you know? So, anyway, in this story he's got both arms. And he's unscathed. Because Sesshie wouldn't be half as beautiful if he had scars all over him… whoops, sorry, back to the story… heh…)

"Yeah, but—" Inuyasha started. Raori interrupted him in the middle of his sentence.

"I would estimate that Lord Sesshomaru is of equal strength to this taiyoukai, from what I have heard of them both. I have never fought either, so I have no way of knowing which of the two is more powerful. The point is, if you find it so difficult to defeat your own half-brother, I can promise you that you will have a very hard time trying to get the shard. If Lord Sesshomaru weren't with you, I would deem it impossible."

There was silence for a moment. "Well, we've got to try," Kagome said finally. "Maybe we can do it and maybe we can't. But we'll never know unless we try."

"I admire your determination, little miko," Raori said approvingly. "Perhaps, working together, you will be able to defeat the taiyoukai after all."

"So, does this taiyoukai have a name?" Sango asked curiously.

"Yes," Raori nodded. "His name is Lord Takinoshi."

"Takinoshi," Inuyasha repeated, pondering the name. "So he's stronger than Sesshomaru?"

"It's very possible," Raori nodded, glancing at the cold demon lord. "No offense, of course, Lord Sesshomaru."

Miroku sighed. "Someone as powerful – or more so – as Lord Sesshomaru must be extremely strong. Imagine that power, aided by the strength of a jewel shard. The very prospect makes me shudder."

Kagome nodded. "Me too, Miroku," she agreed grimly. "Me too."

There was silence for a moment. Finally Sesshomaru spoke, his voice quiet. "When will we leave?" he asked, directing the question at Raori.

"I suggest we leave tomorrow morning for Takinoshi's lands," she replied, glancing over at him. "I will need to check a map to be sure of Takinoshi's whereabouts. I can probably find it and be ready by morning. If you have no other place to stay, you may spend the night here, as long as you do not completely destroy the place."

"I think we will, thank you," Kagome said brightly. "It'll help us to get a good night's sleep before we set out."

"All right," Raori said, and pointed down one corridor. "Those are all bedrooms. Pick however many you have need of. You are free to wander around as you see fit, whether it be inside the house or outside in the gardens. Meet me at the front door tomorrow morning, three hours after sunrise, and I shall provide a meal for you humans before we depart."

With that, she was gone.

Shippo jumped up. "I want to go outside!" he cried. "Will you come with me, Kagome?"

She nodded, smiling at him. Kirara went with them, along with Sango. Miroku, after a moment, followed them out and leaned against a tree, watching as the two girls gossiped and the two small demons played in the flowers happily.

Inuyasha roamed around for a while before leaping to the roof to think things over. He finally jumped down to the garden, sitting in a high branch and watching out over the others, as he was so accustomed to doing.

Raori shook her head, gazing at them from an upstairs window. "They really are inseparable," she murmured, slightly amused. Then, turning away and beginning to rummage in the many drawers of maps, she began her long search for a certain diagram. She knew it was stashed away somewhere around here, but there was so much stuff that it would take a while to find.

As she moved aside a huge stack of papers, her nose informed her of the presence of another person just outside her door. She didn't bother to look up, but spoke distractedly. "Come in, Lord Sesshomaru," she said loudly, and glanced up for a moment as he opened the door to the room. "Can I be of some assistance to you?"

Sesshomaru shook his head and stepped inside, closing the door after him.

"I was merely wondering," he said, watching her shift a few more papers around. "Who is this Takinoshi? Have he and my father ever met?"

"I doubt it," she said, glancing up at him for a moment. "Takinoshi was never a very sociable person. Anyone who met him would tell you such. He chose to live alone, in privacy, in deserted lands. He seldom – if never – showed up in any of the taiyoukai meetings. Those who went out to search for him, to find out just who this mysterious demon was, never returned. Eventually, everyone just forgot about him and left him to himself."

"And how can we trust your word?" Sesshomaru said quietly. "How can we be sure you aren't lying when you say that he has the shard?"

Raori glanced up at him, pausing in her search for a moment. "You heard the girl," she said, referring to Kagome. She narrowed her eyes at Sesshomaru. "I do not have the shard. I also have no reason to deceive you. _You_ were the ones who asked _me _for help. I merely told you what I knew. It is your choice – you can choose to believe me, or you can choose not to. It doesn't matter to me what you decide." She held his gaze a moment longer before turning back to the stacks of paper again.

"Then we will accept your help," Sesshomaru said softly, speaking for the rest of the group as well as himself. "We have nothing else to go on – we may as well trust you. If you've deceived us, I believe Inuyasha will see fit to try and kill you himself anyway, so we have nothing to worry about."

Raori snorted, which Sesshomaru found highly amusing. "I'd like to see him try," she muttered, finally finding what she was looking for. "Ah, _here _it is…"

She unfolded an old, worn map, scanning it carefully. Sesshomaru moved to look over her shoulder at it. The map depicted a large mountain range far north of where they were now. He glanced down and caught sight of his father's castle on the map – it said, in flourishing letters, **_Inutaisho._** He glanced back up at the mountains and saw the same lettering just above them – **_Takinoshi._**

"He lives deep in the mountains, I suppose," Sesshomaru nodded, scanning the page. "It makes sense that he would have as much privacy as he wished that way."

"It'll take a few days to get there, of course," Raori said, taking one last look at the map before folding it back up carefully and stashing it inside her pocket. "Perhaps even a week, what with these humans trailing along."

She glanced at Sesshomaru thoughtfully. "I seem to remember having heard of you as the proudest, coldest taiyoukai to ever walk the earth, yet here you are, traveling with a hanyou and three humans. Why the change of heart?"

"They and I have a common enemy," he said icily. "That's all."

"This Naraku character, right?"

"Yes. He has indeed proved difficult to destroy. My half-brother and his acquaintances have been attempting to slay him for some time, and they have failed. They came to me with the notion that you were in possession of the last shard… and they believed I could lead them to you."

"And you did."

"Yes, I did – my father had a record of you from a taiyoukai meeting he held a while back. It mentioned this old mansion that he gave to you. I already knew where this place was, so I led them here."

Raori nodded thoughtfully. "And this Naraku?" she said, moving to the door and opening it, inviting him to walk with her. "I'm guessing they persuaded you to help with his defeat, as well?"

"They did," Sesshomaru said grudgingly. "The miko is quite persistent. She insisted that I help them. She said also that Naraku's goal is to make the world his own – hard to believe, but easier once you have met him face to face. If he had all of these Shikon shards, I have no doubt he would be strong enough to achieve that goal. The miko said all this, and more, pressing me to join for the sake of my lands and my people, and finally I agreed."

"I'm glad you did," Raori said, offering him a slight smile. "I was getting rather bored, alone in this mansion. It's time I got out of here."

"Then you are coming with us?"

"I suppose." She paused outside another door. "If you will excuse me, I have a few things I have to take care of before we depart – feel free to wander around as you wish. We will leave in the morning."

With that, she slid throughthe door, turning down another hallway towards another room with more things she would need for the journey. She wanted a more detailed map, if there was one – and if she could find it.

As she passed a window, sheglanced out at Inuyasha and his friends where they had gathered in the garden. At first glance, they looked enough to defeat any hanyou. It would seem this Naraku was exceptionally strong. Perhaps it was good that she was joining them… at first, she had been pretty skeptical about this whole "hanyou wanting to take over the world" thing, but now she was starting to believe it… and if it was true, these guys could use her help. The world could use her help.

* * *

Just in case you were wondering, yes, I did make up the name Takinoshi – he's not a character in the manga. He's my other OC. He'll be a main character later on, too, so you better remember his name…

Anyway, it's late, so I gotta stop writing for a while. Hope you liked the chapter! r&r **_NOW!_**


	7. Old Enemies, New Allies

Sorry for not having updated in so long. I will try as hard as I can to write as fast as I can and publish as soon as I can and finish as soon as I can and then take a nice, long break and I'm going to stop babbling now so you can read the story…

Disclaimer: For the sake of the 4.19 in my pocket, no, I do not own Inuyasha. Satisfied?

* * *

Raori spent the rest of that night packing up things that they'd need on their way – food, blankets, some extra weapons, the usual. She wasn't used to packing so much, but this time there were humans to look out for. When she'd finished packing she set everything by the front gates and made sure she'd tucked the map away in her own pack. She then prepared a quick breakfast for the humans, knowing that they would be hungry. Humans were always hungry.

When they had eaten and gathered up their things, they set off, the dim rays of sunlight from the east barely lighting their path enough to see. It was a beautiful sunrise, and they enjoyed it in silence as they walked along.

As they neared the edge of his lands, Sesshomaru became wary. Once they crossed the border into foreign territories, there was no ensuring their safety. They'd have to keep both eyes on the lookout for danger. In his own realm, the demon lord had nothing to fear – all there were under his command and would never start a fight against their own ruler. But in other lands he held no power over the occupants, and disaster could descend upon them before they even realized anything was wrong.

At Miroku's suggestion, they decided to walk rather than rush, for if danger did come upon them they would have to be ready for it. Why waste energy in running and then perish in a fight for lack of energy? So they walked on, moving through the forested lands near the border of the Western Lands. They didn't bother to stop for lunch – the humans ate as they walked.

All things considered, it was actually a very boring day.

However, in the late afternoon, they were interrupted. A wind-blade smashed its way through the forest and shot towards the little group. Raori dodged it easily, watching with a hint of curiosity as the strange attack slashed through the trees behind her, sending them tumbling to the ground. She spun around to face their attacker, her eyes narrowed, crouched in a fighting stance.

Kagura rose to meet her, smirking at them haughtily. The demoness's fan was raised and ready, waiting for them to make a move.

Raori blurred in movement and attacked her, knocking the fan from her fingers. It fell to the ground. Before Shippo could scamper over and snatch it up, Kanna appeared standing over it, staring at him out of lifeless white eyes. The small fox-demon backed away from the little girl, swallowing nervously as she scooped up her sister's fan, never taking her eyes off him.

Inuyasha moved to stand in front of Kagome, Miroku doing the same for Sango. Kagura managed to throw Raori back, and the taiyoukai moved to stand beside Sesshomaru, her eyes evaluating their two enemies. As Kanna went to stand beside her sister, handing Kagura her fan, a third figure emerged from behind them. Kohaku. The boy's eyes were glassy with the power of the shard in his back, and he stared vacantly at the group, weapon in hand. Sango drew in a sharp breath, her grip tightening around her own weapon at the sight of her brother.

Kagura's eyes were on Raori, the only one in the group she couldn't recognize. Whoever the new demon was, she obviously knew how to fight. This was going to be a long, hard battle. The wind-demoness grimaced, cursing Naraku silently as she sent out another attack, striving to hit the group's newest member. Raori simply dodged the attack, her eyes on Kagura's, the force of her glare sending Kagura back a step. A long, hard battle indeed.

Kanna faced off Kagome, who gritted her teeth nervously. The pale girl's only weapon was her mirror, but it was far more powerful than it looked.

A moment later, Raori appeared beside the teenager, having dodged another of Kagura's wind attacks. "What does it do?" she asked quietly, nodding at the mirror.

"It sucks out your soul," Kagome answered quietly. "Don't let her get ahold of yours. I've already had mine taken once before, it's not something you want to happen to you—"

Suddenly Kanna turned and flashed the mirror straight at Inuyasha, who had snuck up behind her, Tetsusaiga in hand. He froze in an instant and dropped the sword with a clatter. His eyes went vacant and a moan escaped his throat. Kagome screamed as his eyes began to glass over. Sesshomaru glanced up, his eyes seeking out his half-brother. He narrowed his eyes, exchanging a glance with Raori. Silently communicating a plan to each other, they blurred into action, working as quickly as they could.

Sesshomaru attacked Kanna from one side, drawing her attention as she used her mirror to reflect his attacks and protect herself. While the mirror's power was directed elsewhere, Raori quickly knelt and quickly picked up Tetsusaiga, ignoring the sizzling burn it gave off as it rejected her.

Because Kanna's mirror was pointing elsewhere, she couldn't use it to protect her this time. She stood with her back to Raori, completely exposed to attack, trying to fend off Sesshomaru and capture Inuyasha's soul at the same time. Leaving her back open like that would cost her her life.

Before the little girl even knew what was happening, the long sword had slashed straight through her. Her little mirror remained untouched. As the young girl's body softly disintegrated, the looking glass fell to the ground and broke into thousands of pieces, shattering from life forever.

Inuyasha woke abruptly from his stupor, turning to stare at Raori and his brother, realizing that they had saved his life. Raori quickly threw the Tetsusaiga away from her, wincing slightly at the burns on her hand from where she had held it. The sword sank into the ground at Inuyasha's feet. He picked it up resolutely, turning to face their other two enemies with a fierce determination.

Kagura was frozen in place, staring at the shattered pieces of the mirror. Her little sister… defeated? How did that happen?

She lowered her fan, turning her eyes on Raori again. Her red eyes glittered thoughtfully as she considered the newcomer. Just who exactly was this girl?

Meanwhile, Sango was busy facing off her brother. It obviously wasn't easy, for her face was streaked slightly with tears and her fingers were white from gripping her sword too hard. She attacked with all her might, though, and seemed determined to defeat Kohaku.

Raori moved to stand beside Sesshomaru, the only other true demon in their group. "What does the boy have to do with Sango?" she asked, nodding to the two exterminators.

"I believe he is her brother," Sesshomaru replied quietly. "There is a shard embedded in his back. It gives Naraku full control over the boy. The only way to set him free is to remove the shard. As a result, the boy will then die." He glanced back at the fight, shaking his heads. "Humans let emotions get in their way too often. This is a perfect example."

Raori watched the fight thoughtfully. Soon Sango got the upper hold, managing to hold Kohaku down for long enough to get the shard out of his back.

The boy immediately went limp in her arms.

Sango let out a cry of pain and collapsed over his body, tears streaming down her face. Miroku was kneeling beside her, as was Kagome, and both tried to console her the best they could. Inuyasha's fists were clenched at the injustice of it all. Kagura even got a slightly sad look in her eyes as she watched the two exterminators.

Raori and Sesshomaru were the only ones who seemed unaffected by the death of the boy – Sesshomaru was a stoic as ever, uncaring and cold. Kagome noticed this and gave him a teary glare, one that plainly said 'don't you care at all?'

He ignored her, glancing at Raori. The demoness was silent, watching the exterminators with thoughtful eyes. Noticing Sesshomaru's gaze on her, she glanced back up at him, quietly speaking over the sobs that now echoed through the clearing.

"Lord Sesshomaru," she said to him quietly, "I seem to recall having heard in some tale or another of a certain sword you possess. It is said to have the power of healing. Do you carry that sword with you?"

Sesshomaru nodded, knowing immediately what she wanted him to do.

"He is human," the demon lord said coldly. "Humans die. It happens every day. I need not concern myself in these matters."

Raori sighed. "I understand," she said, her eyes on Sango. "But we are now allied to these humans, however inconvenient that may be. We have offered them our assistance. We may as well give it now, while they need it most." She nodded at the two grief-stricken girls. Shippo had come out from hiding and was beside Kagome, small tears on his face, as well. Kirara was mewing mournfully, nudging Kohaku as if trying to get him to wake up.

"The human is not essential to them," Sesshomaru shot back, ever adamant.

"He is," she corrected. "You said it yourself – humans let emotions get in their way too often. If the exterminator Sango is so wracked with grief, she will be distracted when she fights and will most likely be killed in battle. The loss of her brother will affect all of the humans, and the fox-demon as well. In a way, he is essential to them." She turned her eyes back on Sesshomaru. "Besides, another addition to our group couldn't hurt, could it?"

Sesshomaru sighed. He hated the thought of helping a human, but he had to admit, Raori was right. And so it was that the stony, uncaring Lord of the Western Lands came to stand above Kohaku's body across from Sango, Tenseiga unsheathed.

Sango looked up, confused, tears still flowing from her eyes. Before she could ask what he was doing, he had swiped the air three times above the boy's body. To their amazement, Kohaku gasped and jerked upright, eyes shooting open to stare around him in shock. He glanced around, confused, and his eyes fell on Sango. She stared at him for a full minute before realizing what had happened.

Sesshomaru backed away again, sheathing the grand sword, as Sango wept over Kohaku, this time shedding tears of joy. The boy smiled, slowly remembering what had happened to him, and hugged her back. Then he got to his feet, facing Sesshomaru. "Thank you for helping me," he said respectfully.

Sango glanced up at Sesshomaru, her eyes still teary. "Thank you, Sesshomaru," she said gratefully, getting to her feet beside Kohaku and putting her hand on her brother's shoulder.

The demon lord merely inclined his head to them slightly, remaining silent. Raori smiled to herself from behind him, knowing that he had done the right thing. As Sango introduced her brother to the rest of the group, she turned to glance at Kagura, who was smiling slightly, her fan lowered, not even moving to attack.

"Well?" Raori asked calmly. "What about you? Aren't you going to attack us?"

Kagura shook her head. "No. Actually… I would ask something of you."

Immediately suspicious, Raori narrowed her eyes. "What? Are you not on the side of the enemy? What makes you think I would do something for you?"

"If you would help me, I would assist whatever cause you may have. I will do as you command, and be as your ally, a member of the group that follows you. All I ask is that you do this one thing for me. Would you hear my request?" she asked.

Raori nodded.

"Kill Naraku."

Everyone blinked at that – they hadn't expected that answer. Kagura explained, clenching her fists. "I am a slave to that sick half-demon. He holds my heart in his hands, and against him I have no power. I wish nothing more than to be away from him, to have my heart and free will back in my possession. I merely ask you for my freedom."

They glanced at each other. Kagome was nodding encouragingly. Raori considered Kagura for a moment, her eyes thoughtful. "We already strive to do such, if I understand the miko correctly," she said, nodding at Kagome. "But if you wish to accompany us and lend your help, I would gladly accept."

Kagura nodded. "I thank you," she said gratefully. "I will do all I can to help."

"We aren't going directly afer Naraku," Kagome said, glad that the wind-demoness was on their side now. "We are going after the last shard first. It's held by this guy named Takinoshi. Have you ever heard of him?"

"No," Kagura replied, shaking her head. "But it is a good plan. If anything could draw Naraku out of hiding, it would be you getting hold of the last shard. I will come with you, if you wish, and help you obtain this shard. I can tell Naraku that I am going out after it to try and find it before you do. Now that Kanna's mirror is gone, he cannot spy on me – he will not know that I am with you."

Raori smiled slightly, more comfortable with another demon on the team. She turned from Kagura to look at Kohaku, her eyes softening slightly. She knelt before him so that her eyes were level with his and put a hand on his shoulder. "I would have you come as well, young exterminator," she said softly. "Are you up to the job?"

Kohaku nodded, standing straight. "I will come," he said firmly. Sango stood beside him, smiling at Raori.

Kagome grinned. "Awesome!" she exclaimed. "We should leave as soon as we can. Are you guys ready to go now?" She glanced at Kagura. "You don't have to report to Nararku or anything, do you?"

"Yes, I do," Kagura said, her face clouding with hatred. "Do not worry, I will be sure he suspects nothing. I will go tonight, when it gets dark."

They set off, Kohaku walking with Sango as she told him everything that had happened since he was pulled into Naraku's grasp. He listened silently, glad to be free and with his sister again, stroking Kirara as he walked. Inuyasha walked with Kagome, thinking over everything that had happened. Miroku walked with Shippo, talking quietly to the little kitsune.

The three demons walked together in silence, leading the way. Each had their own thoughts, and none spoke aloud. They kept to themselves, walking alone, half alert for danger but not expecting any more that day. The sun was already close to setting, and the forest was settling down as its creatures prepared for nightfall.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

They stopped when it became too dark for the humans to navigate. Kagura disappeared into the darkness to seek out Naraku, promising to be back by morning.

They settled down in a clearing for the night. Shippo slept in the corner of Kagome's sleeping bag, which she fell asleep in almost immediately. Sango settled down beside Kirara and her brother. Miroku leaned contentedly against a tree and drifted off. Inuyasha leapt up into a tree and watched over them, soon falling asleep himself, leaving the two remaining demons to themselves.

They didn't speak, but maintained the silence that had gone between them ever since they'd started walking. Raori leaned back against a tree and sighed, shutting her eyes. Sesshomaru did the same, closng his eyes and immersing himself in his own thoughts.

Finally Raori spoke. "So, do you think we can do it?" she asked skeptically.

Sesshomaru glanced up. "Defeat Naraku, you mean?"

She nodded, cracking an eye open to glance at him.

"I believe it is possible," he said after a moment. "Not probable, but possible."

She nodded. "That's what I thought you'd say."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When Kagura returned the next morning, she explained to them that she was free to do as she wished, having Naraku's permission to stay out as long as she had to. He didn't suspect that she would betray him, although he did mourn the loss of Kanna and Kohaku, both gone in the same day.

Once the humans had eaten, they gathered everything up and prepared for their departure. Today they chose to move faster, wanting to get to the shard as soon as possible. Kirara transformed, carrying Sango, Kohaku, and Miroku on her back. Kagura pulled out her feather, settling down upon it and letting Shippo join her atop it. He was obviously fascinated by the contraption.

Sesshomaru and Raori simply leapt into the air. Inuyasha followed with Kagome, following the two demons as Kirara and Kagura soared above him. They made pretty good time like that, traveling north as fast as they could. When Inuyasha and Kirara grew too tired to go any further, they stopped for the night.

The humans rested quietly, but the three demons needed no sleep, so they sat awake and spoke amongst themselves for a while.

"The odds are against us, I believe," Kagura sighed. "Naraku is incredibly powerful, and cunning beyond all means. It takes a lot of effort to get anything past him. He probably suspects that we are after the shard, and he will probably intervene at some point."

"And we have more to worry about than just him," Raori reminded them. "What about Takinoshi himself, the one with the shard? He is not one to give up power readily. My guess is that we will have to fight him for it. The problem is, we don't know anything about him."

"Which means we must prepare for anything," Sesshomaru said quietly.

"Exactly."

Kagura sighed. "There is so much that could go wrong," she said, shaking her head. "But I do not see that we have any other choice."

"No, I don't think we do," Raori agreed. "We have to do this. Get the shard from Takinoshi – a task in itself – and lure Naraku out. Then we have to defeat him and put the jewel together."

There was silence for a second.

"Do you really think we can do it?" Kagura asked uncertainly.

"It would be easier to slay Naraku if we could coordinate our attacks," Sesshomaru commented. "Become as a single group, rather than a bunch of individuals alongside one another."

"Meaning we'd have to train with each other," Kagura finished. "It makes sense to me."

"We may as well start now," Raori said, rising to her feet. "Come, let us see what we can all do."

They worked with each other until morning, learning everything there was to know about the others' attacks. It would've been easier with a live target, but they had to make do with a large dead tree sitting in their path. Kagura and Raori spent the better part of the morning discussing tactics. Sesshomaru sat quietly and listened, having never been the social type, but threw in the occasional suggestion or piece of advice.

They moved on again that morning, the demons moving in silence as they usually did. However, this morning their minds were whirring busily, thinking up strategies and plans for how their attacks could be used to their advantage. It made the going seem to take less time and made it feel less tiresome.

That night, however, they found that they had an audience.

"Aren't you gonna sleep?" Inuyasha barked at them, obviously annoyed that they were keeping him awake.

"No," Sesshomaru said flatly.

Inuyasha threw him a silent glare.

Raori intervened, slightly annoyed at the ever-present hostility between the two. "Being true demons, we have no need for sleep," she said quietly, "so we decided to do something useful while the humans rested. We are working to coordinate our attacks so as to be more powerful in battle. You are free to join us." She ignored the glare Sesshomaru sent her way and nodded to the half-demon. "It would do you good to learn to fight with us. We have already agreed to fight alongside you against this Naraku – the least we can do is be prepared."

Grudgingly, Inuyasha leapt down, drawing Tetsusaiga. They took turns displaying their various attacks. As they watched each other, they strove to think up strategies that could be used in battle.

To everyone's surprise, Inuyasha was the first one to think of an idea. He pointed out that although Tetsusaiga had a great attack – Cutting Wind – someone like Naraku always seemed to be fast enough to move away before it could hit. He suggested that Kagura use her wind to kick up dust so that whoever they were fighting wouldn't be able to see his attack coming.

At first, they thought that her disruptance of the wind would mess up his own attack, Cutting Wind, but if she directed her gusts just so, pointed away from him, he was able to perform the attack and strike straight through the dust to hit his target – a thick tree – straight on.

When the dust cleared, that tree was reduced to a pile of branches and charred leaves.

Inuyasha merely nodded in satisfaction, a smug look on his face.

"So," he said after a second, "what can you do?" The question was directed at Raori.

"I can do what any demon can do," she replied simply. "I rely on my fangs and claws and speed to fight."

"I know that," he said impatiently. "Sesshomaru can use poison in his claws. Can you do anything like that?"

"I do not use poison, no," she said. "Although I can see how it would be useful. No, when I use my claws, it is not poison I use, but fire."

"Show us," Kagura suggested, nodding at another tree beside the one Inuyasha had already destroyed.

Raori obligingly approached the tree, baring her claws and slashing out fiercely. The tree lit up at once, fire searing through it to burn a gaping patch of charred bark where she had struck it.The flamewent out as quickly as it had come, but that blow completely crippled the tree. It creaked and groaned painfully before toppling over on one side and smashing to a halt against another tree.

They worked out a plan to blend Raori's fire with Kagura's wind blades, creating flashing blades of flame that seared through the air and burned whatever they touched. Sesshomaru could do the same, lending his poison to the blades so that they poisoned whatever they touched, as well.

They thought up every scenario in the book – if an enemy was best attacked from all sides, they worked out who was to come from each side so that there would be no confusion. Inuyasha would attack from their enemy's front, Sesshomaru from the back, and Kagura and Raori from the sides.

They worked out ways to coordinate their attacks so that the enemy became weary from dodging them all.

They worked out which way they would fight in close quarters, and which way to fight from far away.

They worked until they all – even the demons – were utterly exhausted.

And by the time morning came, the trees around the clearing were all completely destroyed.

* * *

Again, sorry for taking so long. I'm so sorry! Not only did I have a ton of stuff going on, but I had major writer's block. It took me two days just to get this chapter ready to be put up. It's almost one in the morning right now! Man, the things I do to keep you guys amused…

Anyway, rr please, I'll post as fast as I can!

Oh, and by the way, thanks to judi and Vishia for reviewing me… sorry for the short chapters, Vishia, I'm trying to make them longer! I love to write but I've seriously been having writer's block lately. Hopefully they'll be longer in the future… thanx guys, love you!

-meangenius-


	8. Of Travel, Trouble, and Thoughts

Hey, guys! Sorry it took so long. Hope you like the chapter… it's past midnight, I'm sleepy and cranky, and I'm not exactly chock full of ideas for what to write. What the heck… I'll just start typing, and see what comes out… if you don't like it, flame it, whatever. I'll be too asleep to notice.

As long as you're reading my little author's ramble up here at the top of the page (which you're probably not anyway), I may as well make a dedication. Maybe this is the first one I've made so far. I'm too tired and lazy to check right now. I'll give somebody a dollar to check for me. Just kidding. So, anyway, I'm dedicating this chapter to to my friend, who will remain anonymous, so here I will call her Mallard. Like the duck. Haha! Okay, anyway, she was the one who inspired me to post anything here on the site, since she's posted stuff, and I owe her a lot, cuz she's a good friend too. Everybody say "Hi Mallard."

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. If you think I do then you're probably as dumb as he is.

Happy reading...

* * *

The group moved north quickly, covering as much ground as they could. According to Raori's map, they were getting very close to Takinoshi's lair. At the rate they were going, they predicted that they would be there in only a day or two.

That night, they all stayed up again, including Inuyasha. However, during one rather loud attack in which Raori mixed her fire with Sesshomaru's poison and they attacked a tree together – the tree burst into flame, withered from of the poison, toppled over, and crashed into one of its fellows with a terrible crash – Kagome and Miroku jerked awake.

They were on their feet in a second, thinking that some danger had come. They reached for their weapons, glancing around them warily.

"It's all right, it's just us," Kagura said quickly. "Sorry about that."

The two humans stared at the tree as it fell still, completely destroyed. "What happened?" Miroku breathed, his eyes locked onto the smoldering trunk. "What did you do?"

"Practicing," Inuyasha replied, slinging Tetsusaiga over his shoulder. "Training."

Shippo, who had woken when Kagome got up, jumped up onto her shoulder. "Can we train, too?" he asked, his tail twitching in excitement.

The demons glanced at each other. Inuyasha shrugged and Sesshomaru looked as stoic as ever. Raori and Kagura nodded, beckoning for them to join the team. "We are strategizing," Kagura explained. "We have shown each other our attacks and are figuring out ways to use them to fight better as a group."

"Do you mind if we help?" Miroku asked.

"Not at all," Raori said. "That is, if you're sure you don't need the rest."

"I'm fine," he shrugged, glancing at Kagome and Shippo. The girl was already reaching for her bow and arrows, nodding. Shippo nodded, too.

"All right. What can you all do?" Kagura asked. "Show us."

Kagome demonstrated her arrows, Miroku showing what his powers and staff could do. Shippo was eager to chip in and managed to conjure up some foxfire, but as he was very young and not as strong as he would like, he couldn't hold it for very long. Gesturing for the others to keep working, Raori moved to one side with him, doing her best to help him keep it up longer.

They worked throughout the night, using their powers together. They made great progress, and by morning they felt ready for a fight with Takinoshi – even one with Naraku.

As they all ate quickly and moved on, heading north, Kagome found herself lagging behind. She ran to catch up, so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the group moving so far ahead of her. It had been wonderful, amazing, the practice – seeing Inuyasha and Sesshomaru work together. It made her feel like they could do anything.

Inuyasha glanced behind him as he noticed her running to catch up. He paused, waiting for her to catch up to him. They walked together for a while, slightly behind the rest of the group.

"When do you think we'll find Takinoshi?" Kagome asked, glancing up at Inuyasha.

"I don't know," he replied, shaking his head. "Another day or two, maybe. But one thing's for sure – we'll be ready when we do find him."

"Yeah, all this training's really helping," she said optimistically. "It's amazing, watching you and Sesshomaru fight alongside each other. Whoever this guy is, I bet he won't stand a chance against all of us, especially now that we've got three demons to help us."

"You mean two demons and one stuck-up pompous…"

"Stop, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed. "Sesshomaru agreed to help. The least you could do is give him some credit."

Inuyasha glanced at her. "I just can't help but feel nervous around him," the hanyou explained in exasperation. "We've hated each other for forever, and every time I see him I keep expecting him to suddenly fly at me like he usually does."

"So do I," Kagome shrugged. "It takes a while to get used to it, but you will. Sesshomaru isn't our enemy anymore, Inuyasha. He's our friend now. As soon as Naraku's gone and the shards are safe, _then _I'd tell you to start worrying, as he wouldn't be bound to us for any reason any longer, but for now I think we're safe from him. Relax. We'll never win any fight if we're busy fighting amongst ourselves."

"Yeah, you're right," Inuyasha grumbled. "But that doesn't mean I have to like him."

Kagome shook her head with a smile at his stubbornness. "Come on," she said, reaching up and gently kissing him before taking his hand and pulling him after her. "We're behind."

Suddenly something hurtled towards them, slamming into Kagome with enough force to knock her off her feet. She yelped in shock, warning the others, who spun around at the sound. A giant hawk-demon had lifted her into the air in its talons, crying out angrily as it fingered the jewel that hung around her neck with one of its talons.

Inuyasha yanked out Tetsusaiga, readying himself to charge, but Raori laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Remember our plan for attacking enemies in the air?" she said under her breath. "Consider this practice. Remember your part."

As soon as she'd come, she was gone. Inuyasha gripped Tetsusaiga fiercely in his hands and gritted his teeth, remembering his part in the plan and acting on it.

The bird froze in surprise as Sesshomaru leapt up in front of it, slashing out once and giving it a stinging blow across the chest. It quickly turned away, only to find Raori blocking its path. She struck out and slashed its shoulder, making it wobble in the air. The bewildered creature turned backwards, but was met with Inuyasha, who nearly slashed its beak in half with Tetsusaiga. It glanced upward, but Kagura stood at the ready on her feather, shooting a wind-blade down and slashing its back fiercely.

With nowhere to turn, the bird screeched and started to dive downwards, attempting to soar below them to get away.

It was over in less than a second. Three wind-blades, fused with both poison and fire, shot down into its back, just at the nape of the neck. The bird cried out, dropping Kagome, who squeezed her eyes shut. Inuyasha was already below her, sheathing Tetsusaiga and reaching out just in time to catch her.

The other demons landed around them, checking to make sure Kagome was alright before turning away to examine the corpse of the bird. It was quite dead, and their joined attacks had burned a searing hole straight into its back, through its heart, and out the other side. Sango, Kohaku, and Kirara, who'd known nothing about the nightly training the demons had gone through together, stood at a loss, staring at the felled demon in shock. They hadn't even had a chance to raise their weapons and the fight was already over. Miroku and Shippo, who'd been a part of the training, smiled widely as they approached the bird and examined the extent of the wound it had received.

The demonswere indeed powerful.

Kagome stood shakily, glancing at the bird and smiling softly at the demons in thanks. Raori smiled slightly back at her, turning and sitting to speak with Kagura for a moment. Sesshomaru stood to one side, silently replaying the battle in his mind. Each of them had played their part perfectly. Even his worthless half-brother had been in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing. It was one thing to destroy a tree successfully. It was another to destroy a live enemy in battle, keeping your head and taking part in the strategy despite the exhilaration of battle. He'd almost expected Inuyasha to let them down, but the hanyou had actually performed quite admirably, doing his part and then managing to catch the human just afterwards. It looked as though Takinoshi wouldn't stand a chance.

But of course, if there was one thing the Lord of the Western Lands never did, it was underestimate an enemy. This was an ignorant flying demon with a brain that was probably no larger than his fist. A demon such as Takinoshi, whomever he was, would be more powerful than that – otherwise he would not inspire such caution in one such as Raori, who would stare down even the powerful Lord Sesshomaru with a fearlessness that almost intimidated him.

Kagome sat down heavily on a tree trunk, still slightly shocked by the whole thing. Inuyasha sat beside her, taking her hand comfortingly. Shippo started over to comfort her, too, but – maturely, for once – decided to leave the two alone for a while.

"Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked anxiously, glancing her over.

"Yep," Kagome replied, glancing up at him and smiling brightly. "You guys were awesome! The demons were right – all that training really did help. That demon didn't even know what hit it! I don't think Sango or Kohaku did, either. Did you see the looks on their faces?"

Inuyasha nodded silently, amazed at her cheerfulness. She was attacked by a demon, and just as quickly, she was bright and chipper again. Any normal human girl would have fainted from shock or trauma – but not Kagome. Of course not; she was no normal human girl. She was different, special, whatever you want to call it. It was this, along with her imperishable spirit and kindness, that made him love her so much.

She glanced up at him, noticing the vacant look in his eyes. "Inuyasha? Are you okay?" she said, waving a hand before his face. "You're spacing out."

He smiled at her slightly, reaching over and tucking a stray hair behind her ear. She returned his smile, her own full of unconditional love, and leaned over to kiss him. He kissed her back, feeling himself relax for the first time in a long time. Being with Kagome could do that to him.

She gently slid her arms around his neck, inching closer to him. She didn't care whether anyone else was watching; she had no reason to be ashamed. Inuyasha stroked her cheek with a clawed finger, his heart full of gratitude that he'd managed to tell her that he loved her. This was worth it. The mere sight of her love-filled smile was worth it.

Sesshomaru glanced at them once before turning to the other two demons. He was uninterested in Inuyasha's love life. If the idiot wanted to fall in love with a human, he couldn't care less. As long as they didn't drag him into it, it wasn't his business.

Raori glanced up at him and gestured for him to join them. "Kagura and I have decided to include the humans in our nightly training," she said as he sat down beside her. "The two exterminators are good fighters – I have seen both of them in battle – and to not include them would be unwise. Do you agree?"

Sesshomaru nodded silently, glancing at Sango and Kohaku. The young boy was staring at the bird carcass, absentmindedly running his fingers over his sickle. Sango glanced back at Inuyasha and Kagome a few times, smiling slightly at the sight of them together, before turning and inviting the monk to sit with them. Miroku did so, patting the fire-cat on the head as he spoke softly to Kohaku.

"Well, we'd better get moving," Kagura sighed, putting away her fan now that the battle was over. "The miko has had enough of a break, and I've had enough of watching her with the hanyou. Let's go. The longer we sit around talking, the later we'll get to Takinoshi's lair."

Raori nodded in agreement, moving over to the exterminators. Miroku rose as she approached, staff in hand. "Are we ready to depart?"

She nodded at the three of them before turning to Inuyasha and Kagome, who had detached and were rising to meet her. Shippo, who'd covered his eyes while they were kissing, jumped up on Kagome's shoulder and gave Raori a smile. "Let's go!"

The demon gently returned the smile, marveling at the child's innocence. "Yes, let's," she said, and leapt into the sky, followed by two demons, one hanyou, and a fire-cat.

They traveled for the rest of the way in that fashion, following Raori's lead. As night fell, she bade them stop for a short while and checked the map she had put in her pocket back at the beginning of their journey. Oh, how that seemed so long ago… it felt like ages since she'd packed away her boring life of the past and adopted this new life with these people. How long had it been, really? A week? A year? A millenium?

Yet, despite the length at which time insisted on inching past her, she found that she didn't mind. If traveling for all eternity with this group was to be her fate, then she'd just have to live with it. In all actuality, she really didn't mind. She was starting to like these people. Kagome was kind and cheerful – bordering on annoying, yes, but not quite. Inuyasha, rude as he was, took some getting used to, but he wasn't that bad either. Kagome obviously brought out his better side. The little fox-demon was cute and obviously cared for Kagome more than any other. The exterminators were good people and fought with a bravery she'd never witnessed before in any human. The monk… he was a little harder to see into, but he was just as kind and considerate as Kagome. He served as the guard for the group. Not only did he protect them from harm physically, he also was there to comfort any of them whenever he was needed. And, though she would never say it to his face for fear of embarassing the humble monk, it was plain to her observant eyes that he was head over heels in love with Sango.

The additions to the group – the other two demons – were a little more complicated. This Kagura was obviously a good fighter, and dedicated to their cause, and she'd begun to trust the wind mistress. If they were to go after this Naraku character, one who knew him could prove useful, in the least. And the demoness was proving a steadfast friend. She obviously hated Naraku with all her heart – any fool could look into her eyes and see that.

And then… there was Sesshomaru. Oh, where to begin? The stoic demon was so complex, and yet so simple, that she had trouble in even finding expression in his face, let alone reading him and being able to describe him in intelligent conversation. If she had to say anything, she'd say that he was quiet and proud of what he was. He didn't like to be pulled into the affairs of others, especially his brother, Inuyasha. No – his _half_-brother. She almost smiled, picturing the glare Sesshomaru would have given her if he'd heard her refer to Inuyasha as a brother. No, that was the icy taiyoukai's one flaw – his hatred for Inuyasha. How could they be on the same side, working as a team, if they were forever pitted against one another in a personal feud? It was ridiculous, yes, but there was no way to force them to resolve whatever issues they had between them.

Other than that, Sesshomaru was incredibly interesting. He was shrouded in mystery that was enhanced by the fact that he hardly spoke and hardly ever displayed any emotions whatsoever. She shook her head. She'd heard tales spoken of the stony demon lord of the Western Lands, but this was worse than she'd imagined. He wasn't stony. He was stone itself.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she realized she'd been staring at the same spot on the map for almost a full ten minutes. She quickly scanned it for where they were, then for Takinoshi's castle, and folded it up again resolutely. "Are we ready to go?" she asked, glancing around at the others.

They nodded. As they leapt into the air again, Kagura caught up to Raori, moving beside her in the air. "Raori?" she inquired hesitantly. The taiyoukai glanced at the wind-demon and nodded for her to continue. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Raori said, surprised. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you spent quite a long time staring at a lake halfway across the map from where we're trying to go," Kagura pointed out. "I just wondered where you were. What was on your mind?"

Raori glanced ahead of her thoughtfully, scanning the constellations in the sky and comparing them to the route they were to take. "Nothing, really. Just considering where I am and how I got here. What my life would've been like if I hadn't chosen to come on this crazy adventure. How boring my life would be if all of this hadn't happened."

"So you're glad you came?" Kagura said, glancing at Raori with a smile.

Raori thought for a moment before replying. "I am," she said, nodding. "If I hadn't, I would never have met you all, and then where would the fun in my life be?"

Kagura laughed lightly. "I'm glad you joined, as well. If you hadn't, I would never have been accepted into this group, and I'd still be in Naraku's grasp." She nodded behind them at the group. "Not to mention that they'd be completely lost without you to guide them."

Raori smirked slightly. "Oh, I think Inuyasha could've led them to Takinoshi quite admirably. Don't underestimate him."

Sesshomaru was suddenly beside them, as silent on the wind as an eagle. "What is there in him to underestimate?" he said quietly, glancing at them. "His skills are so meager that it is impossible to think him any lower than he already is."

Kagura concealed a laugh, shaking her head at the demon lord.

Raori glanced at Sesshomaru, suddenly serious. "You know that's not true," she said softly. "The hanyou is more than you depict him as. True, he acts rashly, and he could be a little less rude, both to friends and enemies… but he has determination, if nothing else. He will not give up a fight, and he will put his own life at risk for those he loves – by this, of course, I mean the miko. He will take chances that could destroy him, leave him gasping for his last breaths, to defeat his enemies. And even when he is aware that all is lost, he will not beg for mercy, as a stronger demon may."

She fixed Sesshomaru with an icy stare that nearly matched his own. "I have known the half-demon for less than a turn of the moon, and yet I already know all this about him. How can you, his own half-brother, be so blind as not to see this? The hanyou is more powerful than you would like to admit. Don't do as you always do and give him reason to despise you. If you fight alongside him, rather than against him, you will both be stronger. We cannot defeat Takinoshi – certainly not Naraku – if we cannot even get along with ourselves."

Sesshomaru said nothing, but lowered his eyes thoughtfully. Though his expression (as usual) displayed none of his feelings, inside he was confused and surprised. Raori was right. However difficult it was for him to admit it, however low it made him sink, however angry it made him… she was right.

As always.

He fell back, moving at his own pace, considering what he'd been told. Kagura watched him for a moment before glancing back at Raori, who almost looked sorry for what she'd said.

"It's all right," Kagura said reassuringly. "I think he needed to hear that. Maybe it'll end up for the better. It's certainly made him think. Come on; we're following you. Pay attention to where you're going, or we'll end up lost somewhere." She considered Raori for a moment. "I'd suggest stopping for practice like we usually do, but the humans haven't spoken up or shown signs or weariness, and you look like you wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway. We'll just keep travelling for another half hour or so. Try and forget about everything; just concentrate on our path. If we stray, there's no telling where we could end up." She slowed, leaving Raori to herself.

Raori snapped back to attention and turned slightly east, putting the conversation with Sesshomaru out of her mind for the moment. Maybe she'd done some good in telling the demon lord off, maybe not. Either way, there was nothing more she could do, for Inuyasha or for Sesshomaru. They'd just have to wait and see how things turned out.

As she glanced up at the starry skies, she felt her mind start to wander again. She quickly snapped herself out of it, just in time to notice the dark figure shooting towards them. She opened her mouth to shout out a warning, but the words were torn from her throat as the creature slammed into her. The two dropped down like a stone into the thick forests as Kagura's cry alerted the others.

"Raori!"

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Okay, I'm too tired (since now it's 1 a.m.) to write anything here except goodbye. So, goodbye…. 


	9. Takinoshi

Hey, guys! I'm sitting at Starbucks and I don't have anything else to do, so here's the next chapter; hope you like the story so far. I'm sure having fun writing it… I'm thinking of putting up one for Lord of the Rings. What do you think? Feedback, people, feedback!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Raori and Takinoshi are mine. Mwahahaha.

Have fun!

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"Raori!"

They all spun around at the sound of Kagura's shout. Their eyes immediately began to scan the area for signs of Raori, but she was gone. There was no sign of her attacker, either.

While the others panicked, Sesshomaru wisely chose a more sensible course of action. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his other senses. His ears picked up a faint rustle in the bushes, and his nose noticed a lingering smell that he identified as Raori's, as well as another that he could not identify – her attacker's scent, no doubt. He immediately turned in the direction his ears and nose pointed, darting to the earth without a word to the others.

They immediately chose to trust his judgement, following him as quickly as they could. They emerged under the trees a moment later, staring at the sight that they were faced with.

A dark figure, shrouded in shadow, was struggling to hold Raori still. A long arm wound around her face and through her teeth, gagging her. Two more arms wrapped around her torso, holding her hands at her sides, and another arm wrapped around her legs. Despite her furious struggles, the strange attacker had had the element of surprise, and now that she was in a helpless position, not even her demonic strength could save her.

Nodding to Kagura and Inuyasha, Sesshomaru darted towards the creature. Two wind-blades shot past him and buried themselves in the demon's side. It turned and hissed at Kagura, its arms tightening around its prey. Raori winced, glancing up at the wind mistress as she struggled to free herself. Kagura merely winked at her, darting about to keep the dark demon's attention on her.

The attack came from all sides. A slash from Tetsusaiga sent the creature staggering, its hold slightly loose. Sango's boomerang struck it in the back. Kagura's wind-blades struck it squarely in the legs. Sesshomaru attacked it from behind, slashing downward with poisoned claws and feeling the skin of this dark demon shred under his fingers.

With a shrill scream, the confused demon turned to flee. Shippo wasted no time in quickly erecting a barrier of foxfire, which spread in a tight circle around the demon, penning it in. It recoiled, fear in its voice as it cried out again, and released Raori in its confusion.

This was the worst mistake it could have made. Faster than any of them could have blinked an eye, Sesshomaru had darted past and scooped the limp demoness up in his arms, carrying her to safety. The instant she was out of danger, Kagome let loose her arrow, willing it to strike true. Kagura raised the slightest of winds and tilted the shaft to one side an inch, sending it straight into its target – the demon's heart, as black as its skin.

The fight was over faster than they'd expected. Each of them had managed to assume a role in the attack and stick to it, cooperating with the others to form an invincible force. Such a demon may have taken Inuyasha's group hours to defeat. Now, with more allies and plans for attack, it had taken them no more than a few minutes.

They quickly turned towards Raori, who was slowly gathering her wits about herself. She was more surprised than anything else, and as far as they could see, she wasn't hurt. She confirmed this a moment later, gesturing to them that she was fine.

They relaxed slightly, wisely deciding to settle down – it was past midnight, after all, and some of them – the humans, mainly, and Shippo – could use some rest. Kagura, Sesshomaru, and Raori offered to take watch, which they would do while strategizing, which they now knew was a great help. On their request, Kagura promised to wake them all a few hours before dawn so they could join in the practice. Meanwhile, the demons insisted that even Inuyasha get some sleep. He was, however he hated the fact, only a half-demon.

He assented, though grudgingly. The humans were asleep within minutes, and the sound of the three demons not fifteen feet away assured him that he could relax. They had things covered. He didn't have to watch out for enemies like he usually did while the others slept; that was not his job anymore.

He didn't notice Kagome approaching him until she sat down beside him. Blinking, he turned and offered her a smile, putting an arm around her as he sat back against a tree. She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and heaving a sigh of contentment. He rested his chin on her head, closing his own eyes, feeling himself slowly relax and drift off into sleep. The last thing he knew before he was gone for the night was Kagome's soft "good night, Inuyasha" and her gentle kiss as she snuggled closer to him.

When the sun had started its ascent in the sky, Kagura excused herself from the circle the demons had been sitting in and went to wake the others. They'd spent the entire night thinking up strategies for each and every scenario Takinoshi could present them with. They didn't know if he'd have any allies to fight for him, but if he did, they were ready. They had no idea on what terrain they'd be fighting – wide open ground, a tight forest, a closed-off cave, the side of a mountain, anywhere – so they had a plan for each place. Anything could go wrong, so they tried to account for everything. Undoubtedly there would be something they hadn't foreseen, as there always was, but they'd be ready for as much as they could.

Kagura moved around the camp, shaking Shippo and Kirara awake and moving on to Miroku and Sango. Kohaku had slept on the ground next to his sister, while the monk slept sitting up against a tree not five feet from them. She woke all three of them, ignoring their protesting groans at the early hour and turning to Inuyasha and Kagome.

She paused for a moment to consider them. They did look like they belonged together, nestled side by side as they were. She shook herself, smiling slightly, and knelt beside Kagome, waking her gently. She didn't know whether Inuyasha was a morning person, and didn't want to risk it, so she decided to let Kagome worry about that, turning from the sleeping hanyou towards the sleepy human.

"What time is it?" Kagome mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Early," Kagura said softly, helping her up. "We will train for an hour or two, eat, and begin moving on. Raori thinks we may meet Takinoshi today, if we move quickly enough."

Kagome nodded, turning to wake Inuyasha as Kagura moved back to the demons.

"We will have to work hard this morning," Raori said, glancing up at the wind-mistress. "It may be the last time we have a chance to do so."

Kagura nodded and sat as they waited for the others. When they had all sat down together, Kagura started to talk. They all listened, silent and thoughtful, as she outlined every scenario the demons could think of when they put their heads together. After dealing with demons for most of their lives, Sango and Kohaku could think of a few more suggestions – what to do if you were fighting and the enemy fled into a lake or pond, for example. Actually, odd as that sounds, it had happened to Sango once before – she'd located a demon with a shard that was attacking a village and, rather than fight an exterminator, the coward had fled into the lake, taking the shard with it. Of course, they didn't expect Takinoshi to be a coward, but they had to be ready for anything.

When they had finished and all but the demons had eaten, they packed up and set out north once again. They were all on their guard, knowing that an attack could come at any minute and from any direction. They paid attention to every detail. A cloud drifting across the sky could be a dust cloud caused by a disruption in the rock by an enemy's foot; a scurry in the bushes could be a spy rather than a squirrel; anything could mean danger. Kagome jumped at every sound, and Inuyasha found himself inching closer and closer to her, intent on protecting her.

When they reached the mountain range on Raori's map – the one Takinoshi's residence was located in – they had a quick bite to eat before steadily plodding on. Everyone's senses were searching frantically for some sign of life, and they were so tense they could feel their muscles tremble. Only Sesshomaru and Raori had complete control over their minds, and awaited the attack calmly, knowing that it would come whether they were ready or not. The longer they sweated about it, the more energy they wasted in worrying.

They soon found this would be difficult. There was cause enough for even the most stoic of them to worry.

At about midday, they came to a sudden conclusion that the mountain they stood on wasn't actually a true mountain at all. A distinct rumble from the earth below their feet informed them that it was a volcano. A live, active, angry volcano.

Raori stiffened as her heightened senses noticed something. Sesshomaru and Kagura glanced at each other, having both sensed it, also. Even Inuyasha noticed that something was wrong after a moment. As they strove to discover what it was, it was suddenly painfully clear, as half the mountainside suddenly came crashing down on them.

The three demons blurred into motion, knowing they had no time to waste. Shippo yelled in terror, eyes wide, as the rocks tumbled towards them. Inuyasha held Kagome to him and squeezed his eyes shut, knowing he couldn't get out of the way fast enough – it would take demonic speed, and a lot of it, to escape a blow like that.

Thank goodness they had three strong demons with them.

They all blinked in surprise as the dust cleared away. Raori had grabbed Miroku, Sango, and Kohaku. Sesshomaru had dragged Inuyasha and Kagome out of harm's way. Kagura was holding Shippo and Kirara, both of whom sighed in thanks when they realized that they weren't dead.

Inuyasha stared at his half-brother in surprise. Sesshomaru had saved the two least likely ones in the group – the half-demon and the human he loved. Sesshomaru shook the dust out of his hair, ignoring Inuyasha's surprised stare.

Raori glanced them all over. "We'd better go," she murmured. "I don't know where Takinoshi is, but there's a fair chance he heard that."

"As a matter of fact, I did," came a low voice from behind them.

They whirled around to see a demon leaning against a boulder, eyeing them with a slight sneer. He was dressed entirely in black. He had the appearance of a human, like Sesshomaru, Raori, and Kagura, so it was difficult to tell what sort of demon he was. He was dark, shady, with bright emerald eyes that glared at them. His long black hair flowed down to his waist, blowing slightly in the wind.

All things considered, he didn't look too powerful, but they were wary even so. He was obviously a lot more powerful than he looked, and underestimating one's opponent is always fatal. So they simply stood there, waiting for him to make the first move. The demon stood silently, considering them with his calculating stare.

Finally he spoke. "You came for my shard," he said quietly. It was not a question.

Raori's eyes hardened. Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga, muttering to Kagome over his shoulder. "Where is it?" he asked her urgently.

Kagome shook her head. "I don't know. He doesn't have it on him."

Inuyasha cursed darkly, raising his sword. Hiraikotsu stood ready in Sango's hand. Everyone had their hand on their weapon. Shippo trembled slightly, but glared at the youkai bravely all the same. Takinoshi laughed quietly as he studied them.

"So eager to fight?" he sneered. "All right, then, a fight you will have. Let me see how good you really are."

He vanished. A second later, Kagura spun around and let loose a wind-blade that smashed into a pile of rock, just missing him. He disappeared again, flashing across the clearing with speed unrivaled.

Raori quickly nodded to Sesshomaru and intercepted him, her acute vision being able to follow his path with her eyes. She slammed into him, slashing out, but hit only air. Takinoshi ducked under her swing, turning to meet her. As he faced her, Sesshomaru appeared behind him, lashing out fiercely.

It was as though the demon had eyes in the back of his head. He ducked Sesshomaru's blow and struck out at Raori at the same time. She dodged, backing away a few steps, studying this demon and measuring his strength, speed, and stamina with all of her senses. He didn't seem to be tiring at all – rather, he looked like he was enjoying himself.

Raori readied herself, darting around Takinoshi and glancing up to see that Kagura was in place. The wind mistress quickly let loose a bunch of wind-blades, which hurtled down towards Takinoshi with a soft whistle. He expertly dodged the lot of them, ducking another slash from Sesshomaru and leaping over Tetsusaiga as Inuyasha swung out from behind him.

Sango let loose Hiraikotsu, and Raori slashed out, wreathing the weapon in flame, while Sesshomaru did the same, tinting the tip with poison. Kagura used her power to conjure up a wind, tilting the weapon straight towards Takinoshi.

The demon snarled angrily, trying to dart around it, but Tetsusaiga's Cutting Wind blocked him off on the right, while Kohaku's sickle cut off his retreat to the left. Kirara stood, transformed, just in front of him, her claws bared, snarling. Shippo created a barrier of foxfire behind him, fencing him in.

Takinoshi leapt into the air, landing on top of the giant boomerang as it whistled past. When it turned in midair to fly back to Sango, he leapt off, streaking towards her in a fierce attack.

Miroku immediately unleashed his wind tunnel, using it to suck Takinoshi away from Sango. At this, Takinoshi seemed surprised, not having expected such power in the monk. Miroku winced as he felt the hole in his hand widen slightly, but kept his hand up.

Takinoshi turned away from the sucking wind, darting away, his demonic strength kicking in. Their eyes widened as he slowly managed to move against the wind, something they'd never seen a single demon do before. He was strong enough that he could move away from the wind tunnel.

Kagura floated down beside Miroku and conjured up winds of her own, which pushed against Takinoshi even more, pulling him towards the monk. Takinoshi fought against the two winds a moment longer, considering the situation, before relaxing and letting himself be pulled towards Miroku. Kagome started to rejoice, thinking they had defeated him –

But Takinoshi suddenly pushed off the ground, soaring over the monk's head and striking out, slashing his back and sending him reeling. Miroku quickly covered the wind tunnel, afraid of sucking up one of his friends, and backed away from Takinoshi, biting his lip as blood leaked down his back.

Kagome gritted her teeth as she saw Miroku in pain. She quickly notched an arrow on her bow, aiming for Takinoshi's chest. Shippo created a foxfire barrier around himself and Kagome so that Takinoshi couldn't see what they were doing.

Meanwhile, as she concentrated on her aim, the rest of the group attacked again. Kagura sent another barrage of wind-blades that whistled through the air towards Takinoshi. He dodged away, attacking Kohaku, who had struck him once with his sickle. The boy yelped and stumbled backwards, but Raori was there in a moment, slamming into Takinoshi and sending him off course. She slashed at him, and he jerked away, but not in time to avoid the searing burn that slashed his forearm. He snarled at Raori, but she darted back before he could reach her. He started to follow, intent on getting revenge, but suddenly Sesshomaru was behind him and struck out with Toujikin, giving Takinoshi another slash, this time across his shoulder.

The dark demon leapt away, facing his enemies with a glare, and swallowed slightly.

They saw with satisfaction that he was tiring. This demon was obviously incredibly powerful, but not so powerful that he could stand up to three humans, a half-demon and three true demons – and a miko, who struck just at that moment.

Her arrow didn't strike true, for Takinoshi was too fast, but it did pierce his side, causing him to cry out in pain and back away slightly. Shippo put down the barrier with a cheer, and Kagome smiled brightly as she saw that she'd hit him, however small the wound was – every little bit counted, and this would help them a lot.

Takinoshi narrowed his eyes, really angry, and was gone again.

He suddenly appeared behind them, striking out and sending Kohaku and Sango flying. They hit the ground hard, wincing as the bare rock cut into their backs. Sesshomaru and Raori fought alongside one another, but without the teamwork they'd had before, they found that the two of them couldn't keep it up very long. Kagura used her wind-blades to make him back off for a moment, but he simply leapt into the air and struck out, sending her fan toppling from her fingers.

Kagura backed away, her feather floating higher than Takinoshi was. He ignored her, leaping down towards Kagome, intending to repay what she'd done to him with her arrow.

Inuyasha was at him faster than any of them would've thought possible. Takinoshi tried to dodge around him, but Tetsusaiga forced him back. Inuyasha stood bravely in front of Kagome, glaring at Takinoshi, unwilling to move an inch.

Takinoshi darted for him, and Inuyasha braced himself for the attack he knew was coming –

But suddenly Takinoshi froze, narrowing his eyes, tilting his head and listening intently. Surprised at this sudden change, the others fell still, following his example and trying to hear whatever it was had stopped him so abruptly in his tracks.

It happened so suddenly that even Takinoshi didn't have time to dart away. Another landslide, ten times larger than the first, was suddenly upon them. It was a huge avalanche, large and small rocks alike, and it hit them like a ton of bricks – which it almost was.

The entire world turned upside down then. The rocks slid most of the way down the volcano, finally rumbling to a stop almost a mile from wherethe landslidehad started. The group was seperated, some landing to one side of theavalanche's pathwhile others were swept onward. When the rocks finally fell still and the dust cleared, they were all lying at various intervals on the mountain, alone and unconscious.

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Hope you liked it. I feel like writing some more, so I'll go ahead and start the next chapter now… Oh, man, now I've gotta name this one. Hm, what to call it… Oh, whatever, I'll think of something. Happy Memorial Day (which was yesterday…) Bye, everybody! 


	10. The Aftermath

Okay, so they're all lost on the mountain… what to write about now… hm…

Well, first of all, thanks to all of you guys for reading. You're what keeps me writing, even when I type so much my hand falls off (which, luckily, doesn't happen all that often). I do this for you guys, you know. All for you, so you can have something to do when you get bored at home. I'm so selfless.

And I don't even own Inuyasha. See? If I owned Inuyasha, I'd be rich and keep away from all you guys, and I'd just read that instead of writing fanfiction for you guys. That would be selfish. But no – I don't own it, so I write, so I'm selfless. Get how it works? Me neither. Anyway, I don't own Inu or any of the characters – except Raori and Takinoshi. That's not being selfish, because I share them with you by writing about them. So ha.

Before I forget, thanks to SesshiesKamatotoGirl and Lorana-the-Somoner for reviewing. You rock!

Okay, so on with the story…

* * *

Sesshomaru woke a while later to see that he was sprawled on the rocks, not far from the path of the landslide itself. It had deposited him beside it and kept on going. He saw that Raori lay nearby, still unconscious, but he didn't see anyone else. 

He moaned softly in pain. He could taste blood in his mouth, and his entire body ached, but he knew it could be worse. Most of his wounds had already healed over; he healed quickly, being a demon, a fact he was eternally thankful for. He glanced at Raori and noted that she'd mostly healed, too. It wouldn't be long before she woke.

The taiyoukai managed to get to his feet and stagger over to Raori. They couldn't stay out here – if Taknoshi woke and was fully healed before them, he'd come looking for them. Now, when they were weak, was the perfect time for him to attack. They had to get out of the open and find some shelter where they could defend themselves if necessary, and hide until they were back in shape.

He found a cave – actually, more of a crevice in the side of the volcano than a cave – and managed to drag Raori inside. When he'd settled her down inside, he moved to sit at the mouth of the cave to watch out for any of the others.

As he sat and stared out into the daylight, he found his thoughts wandering to Raori. The way she had fought - gracefully and intently, her lithe body nearly invisible when she used her demonic speed – awed him. More and more as time wore on, he'd found himself wondering about her. He knew that she had been a friend of his father, but beyond that, she was a mystery, and one he wanted to solve.

Normally, Sesshomaru scorned love, friendship, even fondness – weaknesses, he called them. He needed no friends, nor allies; he was a demon lord, and could fight for himself. He'd seen many a foolish demon fall out of grief for lost friends, and had absolutely no intention of going that way himself.

Now he was starting to see differently.

He observed how close Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were – and how they had accepted Kohaku and befriended him, too. Their friendship made them fight harder to protect one another, and he'd seen them accomplish things together that one of them could never have dreamed of. Alone, they would fall instantly, but as a group they were strong. He could see that, and as much as he hated to admit it, it seemed wise.

Kagura, usually a loner, seemed to fit in with them, as well. She spent time speaking with Kagome and Sango, being three of the few girls in the group, and they accepted her, though she'd been their enemy not long ago.

He sighed, closing his eyes and resting them for a moment. Then there was Raori. She was amazing in a fight – and from what he'd seen of her, she had a good heart, too, though she was often quiet.

Sesshomaru found himself thinking of her as a friend more and more. The two of them had much in common – they kept to themselves, mostly. They fought alone, at least before Inuyasha came along. They were true demons in humanoid form. They were of noble blood, taiyoukai who knew both war and peace.

Sesshomaru was starting to like her. As crazy as the statement sounded when it rang inside his mind, as crazy as it probably sounds to you, he couldn't deny it. He'd never met anyone like her before. His icy heart was probably not capable – yet – of love, but sure enough, there was something there for her.

He glanced at her over his shoulder. She was still unconscious. He watched her, for how long he didn't know, and there was the slightest hint of soft admiration and fondness in his look. Finally he looked away, not having realized he was staring, and shook himself. He decided to follow her example and sleep – he hadn't done so in a long time, and he could probably use the rest.

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Miroku groaned as he awoke. He opened his eyes to see Kohaku kneeling over him. The boy had a worried look on his face, along with a few cuts and bruises. When Miroku sat up, wincing as he felt scrapes along his own body, the boy relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I found Sango and Kirara. Kagura's with them. She asked me to search for others. Besides you, I couldn't find anyone else," he said apologetically. "Are you all right?"

Miroku nodded, getting to his feet. "I'm fine."

Kohaku led the way up the hill to where Kagura sat under an outcrop of rocks, guarding Sango and Kirara. She nodded to Miroku as he worked his way up the slope wearily. Her eyes took in the state of him and Kohaku, seeing their multiple wounds. She, being a demon, was already partly healed, for which she was grateful.

"Go ahead and sleep," she told the two humans. "You probably need it, certainly more than I do. I'll wake all of you in the morning and we'll decide what to do."

They nodded gratefully, moving to lie beside the others. Kirara was in miniature form, and Kohaku lay next to her, falling asleep almost instantly. Miroku lay down beside Sango, glancing her over worriedly and hoping she was all right before drifting off himself.

Still in a deep sleep, Sango inched slightly closer to the monk, much to Kagura's amusement.

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Inuyasha felt a splitting headache come on as he opened his eyes to the blaring sunlight, but ignored it and sat up anyway. He spotted Kagome and Shippo both lying nearby. He immediately got to his feet, staggering over, using Tetsusaiga as a crutch. He checked Shippo, but the kit's only real wound was a giant bruise on his forehead – he got lucky. The hanyou then knelt anxiously beside Kagome. She was not as well off. She had cuts on her legs and arms, and a nasty one on her head that had obviously knocked her out.

Inuyasha gently lifted her in his arms, picking up the kitsune and bringing him, too. He trekked out of the sun and into the shade of a wide crack in the wall, laying them down inside before settling next to Kagome, watching over her as the sun slowly crept through the sky.

He could see what injuries she had on the outside, and they didn't look fatal, but he didn't know what was wrong underneath the skin. Until she woke up, he wouldn't rest, he decided. He loved her too much to lose her, and he'd stay awake and watch over her until she woke up. If he had to battle Takinoshi himself single-handedly, he would, if it was to protect her. Of course, he didn't want to, feeling downright miserable himself, but he would, if he had to.

He wondered where the others were, and whether they were all right, but found that however much he tried to feel worried, his thoughts kept darting back to Kagome.

He brushed a strand of hair from her eyes, touching her cheek gently and willing her to wake. Of course, she didn't, and he felt his heart sink slightly. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, sighing miserably and glancing at Shippo, who was snoring softly, obviously fine.

The half-demon glanced back at Kagome to see that she was shivering. He felt it, too – as the sun lowered in the sky, the mountains became chilly, and he was starting to feel uncomfortably cold himself. He got up, going to the giant pack Kagome always wore, and dug out blankets. He draped one over Shippo, carefully tucking the other over Kagome and settling down to share it with her, putting his arm around her to give her his heat. He held her against him, resting his chin atop her head, biting his lip worriedly.

_Please wake up, Kagome,_ he thought anxiously. _Please…_

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Takinoshi shook himself angrily, ignoring the pain from his quickly healing wounds. Right in the middle of a good fight, one of the best he'd seen in ages, this had to happen. Now they were all scattered, and the fight would probably not be the same. They were seperated, weak, and none of them – not even him – were in the condition for a fight.

But if he approached them while they were divided… then he'd have the advantage. Ten to one were difficult odds, but if you lowered it two three or four at a time…

Takinoshi began moving, seeing that he was at the end of the landslide. Since none of them were nearby, he knew that they were up the mountain – all he had to do was follow the path of the rocks to where they came from, and undoubtedly, sooner or later, he'd find them.

Smirking, he started up the hill, his mind already forming a plan. If, indeed, he found them separated, he could probably take most of them captive. When he had a few of them, he could use them as bait, threatening to kill them in order to draw the others out – for, undoubtedly, some would escape. Then he could destroy them all, or perhaps use them towards other means.

Either way, he would take the plan step by step. He would travel, and fight, and capture… he wouldn't rest until he had them in his grasp. It was just a matter of who he reached first.

The youkai smirked. They'd never know what hit them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha was about to drift off, he was so weary, when Kagome finally groaned and woke up. He almost laughed aloud for joy. She opened her eyes blearily and smiled slightly when she saw him. He smiled back at her, so relieved he thought he would burst.

Kagome stretched a little, wincing and putting a hand to her head. "What happened? Where are the others?"

"There was a landslide," Inuyasha reminded her. "Shippo's here. I dunno where the others are."

Kagome immediately turned towards Shippo. "Is he all right?"

"He'll be fine. He's been snoring this whole time."

Kagome relaxed slightly, snuggling against Inuyasha. "I guess we just wait for the others to find us, then," she sighed. Inuyasha nodded, knowing that none of them were well enough yet to travel.

They sat together and slept, neither of them strong enough to stay awake any longer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Miroku finally woke again, it was to see that Sango was already awake. She was sitting beside Kagura, and both were silently watching the sunset. He lay still, watching them, admiring the soft glow of the sun's last rays as they framed Sango's face. She was beautiful, and he found himself unable to move, his eyes taking in this vision of perfection as he lay silently.

After a moment, when the sun was beyond the horizon and night had fallen, Sango turned to Kagura. "I slept all day," she said quietly. "Get some rest. I'll watch for a while."

Kagura nodded gratefully, moving to lie down. When he thought she was asleep, Miroku picked himself up off the ground and walked over to Sango, seating himself next to her.

She glanced at him sadly. "Do you think they're all right, Miroku?"

Miroku glanced out at the sky as the stars began to emerge from the darkness. "I think so," he said with a nod. "They can handle themselves. Kagome's got Inuyasha to watch over her, and the demons will be fine. We'll find them, Sango. It's only a matter of time."

Sango sighed, accepting his words and hoping he was right. They sat for a while in the dark, watching the night sky become alive, neither of them speaking. They didn't know how much time passed – the heart measures time differently than the mind, after all. It could have been hours, it could have been minutes. All they knew was that they were content with each other, and the silence was not uncomfortable, but peaceful and calm.

Finally Sango yawned, stretching slightly and glancing over at Kohaku. The boy was curled around Kirara, his body heat warming her as the air grew chillier. She smiled slightly, still incredibly thankful that he was alive – the last of her family.

Miroku followed her gaze, recognizing the happiness in her eyes. With a soft smile, he put an arm around her, feeling her stiffen under his touch.

Sango swallowed nervously, expecting to feel his hands where they shouldn't be – but, to her surprise, the monk simply sat in silence with his arm around her, behaving himself. She realized that he knew this wasn't the time for such things, and was respecting her. Slowly, she relaxed, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes to rest for a moment.

Miroku smiled to himself, glancing up at the sky once more. The stars seemed to twinkle slightly, as though the sky itself were smiling back down at him.

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Raori woke painfully, lifting her head to see that she'd been using a rock as a pillow. It hadn't helped the major headache she felt coming on. She put a hand to her head and sat up, opening her eyes to see that night was on its way and the sun was already halfway gone from the sky.

They were in some sort of cave, she noticed, and Sesshomaru was seated by the entrance, deep in sleep. As she glanced over him, she realized that they couldn't have been swept inside here by the landslide. The stoic demon lord had carried her in here. She paused, considering that for a moment – it was gracious of him, which was saying something, really. She gently slid past him and walked out onto the mountainside, gazing up at the sky as the stars began to shine. It was beautiful, but the pounding inside her head ruined it a bit.

She wondered who else was gazing up at the same sky, and whether or not they were all right. Kagura she wasn't worried about, and she knew that Inuyasha could look after himself, but the humans she wasn't so sure about. They were fragile beings, and their bodies were much more easily damaged than a demon's. She sighed, turning back to the cave to sit down, and saw that Sesshomaru was awake.

Raori moved to sit beside him, thankful that he was all right. Sesshomaru was silent, but his eyes met hers and acknowledged her, telling her without words that he was thankful she was all right, too.

They sat in silence as the night wore on, staring into the darkness and allowing their bodies to heal and gather strength. As time passed, they slowly became aware of how cold it was becoming, and both moved further inside the cave, seating themselves against the back wall and resting where the cold couldn't fully reach them, trying to ignore it.

I'd like to say that Sesshomaru noticed Raori shivering and put an arm around her, but I like to speak of things as they are, and that would be completely out of character. I can safely say, however, that the thought did cross his mind. Even through their tough demon skin, the two began to feel the cold, and he did indeed notice Raori start to shiver. However, because he still scorned the idea of being close to anyone – literally or figuratively, in body or heart – he didn't move to comfort her, but turned all thought inwards, towards himself.

He soon found that was impossible, and became increasingly annoyed at the fact that he couldn't keep his thoughts anywhere but on Raori.

The two eventually slept, still side by side, lulled to sleep by the calm peace of the night. In their sleep, the two inched unconsciously closer to one another, something they would never have done, were they awake – and, as they had with Miroku, the stars seemed to smile down upon them, and the cold wind seemed to soften a bit, as if it could feel the warmth the two held for one another in their hearts and had decided to allow them to rest in peace.

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Meanwhile, the same winds seemed to swirl around Takinoshi as he continued up the mountainside, but the strong demon ignored them and continued onwards. He'd lived in this range for many years, and had developed a power over his environment, one that allowed him to walk unhindered by the winds. Obviously, he still had a slight problem with the angry landslides that happened often, but usually he was someplace where they couldn't harm him, or was forewarned. It just so happened that this one, one of the worst he'd seen, happened just when he was in the middle of a fight, and too preoccupied to notice at first.

It wasn't until late into the night that he found anyone. He couldn't use his nose to search for them, even as strong as it was – the avalanche had distributed their scents all over the mountains. His headache had slightly dulled his senses, and where he might have been able to find where the scents were the strongest, now it was too painful to try and sort them out, and he resorted to traveling in a straight line and hoping he found someone.

Finally he found the spot where Inuyasha and Kagome rested – he could hear the little fox-demon snoring, and set his course towards the sound.

Luckily for him, they were both asleep, but as he approached, the half-demon's ears pricked up. He woke in a second, his hand already on Tetsusaiga, but Takinoshi was too fast for him – in an instant, he had Kagome, and Inuyasha was unable to strike for fear of hitting her.

Kagome woke up instantly, feeling Takinoshi's sharp claws at her throat. Her eyes were full of fear when she looked to Inuyasha, and she saw the same fear for her life in his own eyes as he lowered his sword.

Takinoshi smirked. "You aren't as stupid as you look, hanyou," he hissed, and suddenly he attacked.

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut as the demon leapt towards Inuyasha. The half-demon was still wounded, and he wasn't nearly fast enough to face the demon alone. Takinoshi was on him in an instant, striking the hanyou in the back of the head and rendering him unconscious. Kagome bit her lip and forced back tears as Takinoshi slung the limp hanyou over his shoulder, giving her a glare that dared her to scream. He reached over and picked up Shippo by the scruff of his neck, handing him to Kagome and yanking her along by the wrist, his grasp so tight she was unable to free herself.

As she stumbled to keep up with him, Kagome found herself despairing – she knew that she would probably be wishing for death before the end, with what this horrible demon most likely had in store for her.

Takinoshi made his way to a vast underground castle, his home in these mountains. The dungeons were far underground, so far that not even the most acute hearing of any demon could hear the pounding of prisoners against the stone walls. He tossed Kagome unceremoniously into one of the cells and dumped Inuyasha in with her, locking the steel barred door behind him and emerging into the starry night again.

He had three of them – the hanyou, the miko, and the kitsune. Three down, seven to go. This was easier than he'd expected.

An hour later he found the next group – Miroku, Sango, Kohaku, Kirara, and Kagura. The monk was awake, keeping watch, he noted. The boy was asleep next to the untransformed cat demon. The boy's older sister was asleep against the monk's shoulder, and the wind-demon was dozing a little way away.

Takinoshi crept up behind Miroku, remembering his attack with the Wind Tunnel and determining to pay him back for it. Miroku sensed him immediately and rose to his feet, whirling, his staff raised. Sango, at the sudden movement, opened her eyes just in time to see Takinoshi strike Miroku in the stomach. She rose to her feet as the monk sank to the ground and fell unconscious, but before she could even reached her boomerang, the same had been done to her.

Takinoshi shook his head at them as he threw the two over his shoulder. The foolish monk should have been paying more attention.

He left quickly, only carrying Miroku and Sango – powerful as he was, he couldn't carry them all at once. When he returned, the others were still asleep. He slung Kohaku over his shoulder – the boy was so tired that he didn't even wake. Kirara he picked up carefully, trying not to wake her – the last thing he needed was for her to transform and attack him in her larger form. He approached Kagura, who woke the moment he set foot within ten feet of her, her acute senses going off like a warning sign inside her head.

She jolted upright, eyes blazing as she took in the scene with a glance. Takinoshi immediately attacked her, his claws raking across her arm and forcing her to drop her fan. She stumbled backwards, cursing, and he darted around her, slamming his fist into the back of her head as he'd done to Inuyasha. What with the headache he knew she already had, the wind-mistress toppled to the ground, unable to remain awake. Takinoshi laughed to himself. This was too easy. It almost wasn't any fun at all.

He brought his new finds back to the castle and locked them up, Miroku with Sango, Kohaku with Kirara, and Kagura in her own separate cell. He locked them all in, knowing that not even Sesshomaru could break out of a prison as fortified as his. The bars were so strong that not even the strongest of claws could tear through them. Tetsusaiga might have had a chance, but he'd taken the hanyou's sword away, along with all the weapons they carried. They were helpless now.

And they were his, to do with what he wished…

He only hoped the last two, Raori and Sesshomaru, were to be as easily captured as the others.

It took him a while to find them. It turned out he'd overlooked them the first time he'd passed by, and he had to retrace his steps to find them. They, too, were asleep when he approached, but not for long. The instant he was within forty feet of where they hid, both of them jerked awake, instantly alert.

They stood at the mouth of the cave, face to face with Takinoshi, who stood some thirty feet away. He looked them over in silence for a moment. They looked almost as healthy as he felt, and he knew that this would be a harder capture than before – nonetheless, he'd come this far, and he wasn't about to give up.

He darted forwards, using his speed to his advantage, and Sesshomaru moved to meet him. The two collided in a flurry of snarls and swipes, each trying to wound the either, neither managing to inflict much damage. Raori watched for a moment, and only a moment, before stepping in to assist Sesshomaru.

She attacked Takinoshi from behind, her claws laced with fire, and managed to strike him. He darted away and spun to face the two of them, his eyes glittering dangerously.

Sesshomaru inched in front of Raori, tensing, ready to protect her. She never took her eyes from Takinoshi, but noticed his protective attitude and was thankful all the same. Takinoshi began to prowl around them in a circle, calculating the best way to attack.

He finally leapt forward and engaged Sesshomaru in battle, using as much strength as he could spare. After a few minutes, Sesshomaru started to tire, even with Raori helping. He threw Takinoshi back with one last burst of energy and turned to her.

"Run," he breathed quietly, his voice so soft that only she could hear. "He isn't here to kill us, or he'd be trying harder. He wants to capture us. I'll keep him occupied. Run."

Raori turned to him in shock, wondering how he could ever suggest such a thing, but he met her eyes and gave her a glare that told her to accept what he'd said and not fight him about it. She hesitated a moment, but the angry Takinoshi attacked once more, swiping out and catching Sesshomaru's shoulder armor.

Sesshomaru fought back, glancing back once at Raori, his eyes flashing at her.

Raori hated leaving him, but knew that he was right – if she remained to stay, Takinoshi would only capture them both. He was already going to capture Sesshomaru, and who knew how many others he already had? If they wanted to escape, they'd need someone on the outside – and that would just have to be her.

With one last glance at Sesshomaru, her eyes telling him how sorry she was, she turned and was gone. She vaguely heard Takinoshi curse darkly from behind as she fled, but didn't look back.

When all fell quiet, she breathed a sigh of relief. She'd hide for a little while, and when the time was right, she would go looking for wherever Takinoshi had jailed them. She'd set them free and, together, they would defeat the dark demon Takinoshi and repay him for what he'd done to them.

Takinoshi stood in the prison and glanced around. He almost had a full collection. Only Raori left.. And it was only a matter of time before she, too, was his.

He looked them over. Miroku and Sango in one cell, Kohaku and Kirara in another, Kagura in one, Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippo in one, and Sesshomaru by himself in the last. He had one cell left, and he fully intended to fill it. He would have his prize. Then, when he had them all, he could do whatever he pleased with them.

Suddenly he stopped short, halfway up the steps out of the dungeon. Or, maybe…

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When Sesshomaru finally woke from the unconsciousness Takinoshi had bestowed upon him, the first thing he saw was cage bars. He groaned, sitting up and glancing around. All around him sat the other members of their group. They were all awake, watching him – obviously, they'd been waiting for him to wake up.

"Finally," Inuyasha muttered, though he couldn't deny that he felt a strange sort of relief that Sesshomaru was all right. Not that he cared about him or anything, but at least now they had a good fighter with them.

"Where's Raori?" Kagura asked, ignoring Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru got to his feet, putting a hand to his head. "She was with me. When Takinoshi attacked, I fought him alone to distract him and she escaped. She is free."

"I guess we'll just have to depend on her to get us out of this," Miroku sighed. "At least she's dependable and strong. If it was you, Inuyasha, I'd give up all hope."

"You're lucky I'm in a cell, houshi," Inuyasha growled angrily.

"Oh, shut up," Kagome sighed. "Stop fighting. Sesshomaru, can you break through the bars?"

Sesshomaru shook his head. "No. I can already tell they are too strong." He struck out, swiping at them, but they held stubbornly, not even bearing a scratch as a trophy of his attempt.

"Well, we'll just have to wait for Raori, then," Kagura said, sitting back. "I don't doubt that she'll find some way to set us free, no matter what it takes."

They remained silent, hoping beyond hope that the wind-mistress was right.

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As she stumbled over the mountain, Raori cursed Takinoshi furiously in her mind. She trekked onward until she was sure she was safe. Finally, she came to a stop, settling down to rest for a short while. She stayed half alert, in case she needed to rise and fight quickly, but welcomed the sleep.

She did so for only a few hours before rising again. She was too restless, wondering where Takinoshi was and whether he was on her trail, to really get any sleep.

She got back on the move, keeping all of her senses alert for anything. She knew that she was close to the border of the mountains by now, but she didn't turn back – Takinoshi had to truly believe she had left before she came back to search for the others.

She used her nose, concentrating on smell for a moment. The smell of sulfur, from the many volcanoes, was still in the air. A bit of the dust from the recent landslide was noticeable, too. She could smell a few small rodents and birds that had made their homes in the mountains. Finally she caught Takinoshi's smell, though it was faint – but not the sort of faint that meant he was far away. It was the faint smell of a scent that had aged. Takinoshi was not there now, but he'd been there before – and that smell probably led to his lair, wherever that was – which also probably led to wherever he was keeping the others.

She immediately turned in that direction, keeping her nose and ears out for any sign of where he was now, but for a while she traveled in silence and peace. She began to sort out a plan while she went, knowing that she would rescue the others or die trying. To leave them in the hands of such a terrible demon as Takinoshi was unthinkable. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he would do to them.

She trekked across the land for hours, not bothering to keep track of time. She slowly began to tire, but chose to ignore her weariness. She could always rest when they were free, but until then, releasing them was her top priority.

After a while, she stopped beside a small pond to have a drink – she'd been walking for what felt like forever with no water, and it helped clear her throat a bit. It was while she was there that the trouble started.

Her ears alerted her at the same time her nose did. Takinoshi's smell was approaching, and she could hear him behind her. She quickly darted away from the pond, dashing into the forests across from it and getting a safe distance away before turning back to watch.

Takinoshi had knelt beside the pond and had taken a drink from it. She crept closer, seeing him mutter under his breath to himself. She could hardly make out what he was saying, but he sounded angry. She crept a tiny bit closer and managed to catch some of his last sentences.

"Yes, no other way… send her… do the job for me… that blasted, lying, thieving hanyou… I swear, I'd love to rip his guts out…"

Raori narrowed her eyes. A hanyou? Didn't Kagome say Naraku was a half-demon?

Suddenly Takinoshi stiffened. "Raori," he said calmly. "Come out. I know you're there, and if you don't it'll only be harder on your friends. Don't be a fool. Get out here and show yourself."

Raori stepped out into the open, her eyes coldly considering him. He turned and looked her up and down. It seemed like he was sizing her up. After a moment, he spoke, his voice as cold as it always was – but it had some sort of pleading, deep down in its tones, and she was confused for a moment.

"Listen to me," he said quietly. "You're powerful. I've heard of you, and met you before – now, I've fought you for myself, and I can see how strong you are. I believe you are strong enough to do something about a problem that's been bothering me."

"What makes you think I would help you in anything?" she hissed, ignoring his compliments.

"Your friends. It's simple. If you help me, I will set them free. I give you my word as a taiyoukai of these lands. I may not be well known, or have a good reputation, but I do have my own code of honor. It will hold me to my word. Will you hear me out?"

Raori sighed, but nodded. "Go on."

"There is a certain hanyou that has been giving me trouble. He goes by the name of Naraku. You haven't heard of him, by any chance?"

"Yes, I know a bit about him. Apparently, he has most of the shikon shards. He is a greedy hanyou that seeks only more power. The group I am with is pitted against him, and seeks to destroy him. Kagura, the wind mistress that fought alongside me, was created by him. She hates him with a malice unrivaled. Kohaku, the younger exterminator, was taken over by him and forced to destroy his own family. What did he do to you?"

Takinoshi sighed and began to walk. Raori walked alongside him, listening as he told his tale. "The shard I have in my possession now is not the first one I have had. I used to have another. I protected them both, for I had no wish for any lesser demon to get ahold of them – but I didn't use them for myself. I didn't want to risk their power taking over me.

"Of course, Naraku, being drawn to power, came after me as soon as he heard I possessed the shards. He stole one of those shards and is using it to boost his own power."

Takinoshi glanced at Raori. "I want you to go after him, take my shard back, and return it to me."

"The shards he has are fused with his body. To retrieve them, I'd have to destroy him, or at least wound him enough to get ahold of them. Fighting you was difficult enough, and our numbers were ten. Alone, I could no sooner face this Naraku than stop the sun from setting every night."

"You will have to try, if you want your friends to get out of this alive," Takinoshi replied.

Raori sighed. "I know. There is one problem. If I did this for you, and died in the fight against Naraku, what would you do with my friends?"

Takinoshi considered that for a moment. "What would you have me do?"

"Set them free. Forget them."

The demon sighed. "Fine. I would do this, if it was your last wish."

Raori hesitated. "You swear to set them free if I succeed?"

"I swear it," he promised.

"Then I will do as you ask."

Takinoshi sighed in relief. "I thank you, Raori."

She nodded. "But before I go," she said, "you must do something for me. I will need weaponry. My claws and fangs have never failed me, but this is no normal enemy. I also must see my friends, only for the shortest moment, to be sure you are not bluffing. For all I know, you have already killed them and are simply lying to force me to do this. Would you do these things?"

Takinoshi bowed his head thankfully to her. "Yes, I would. You have my gratitude. This affair may still turn out nicely, and we may not have to finish that battle after all."

Raori smiled slightly. "Perhaps not. Lead the way."

And they were off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyone looked up as Takinoshi descended into their prison. Inuyasha was about to growl out some smart comment at the sight of him when Raori appeared behind him.

The hanyou bit back his former remark and stared. "He got you, too?"

She didn't answer, but looked over them all, noting their stunned expressions at seeing her and smiling at them slightly. Her eyes caught Sesshomaru's, and the two gazed at each other for a moment – only a moment. Yet in that moment, a hundred things were said. Sesshomaru was relieved that she was alive, and she was relieved that he was, too. She was sorry she had abandoned him and run; he reassured her that it had been the right thing. She mourned the fact that she was right there, right in front of him, and could do nothing – he understood, and was just as frustrated that he was locked away from her.

"All right," she said at last, turning to Takinoshi. "Show me to the weaponry and I will go."

Takinoshi nodded, turning back to the door. Immediately Kagura broke the silence, speaking for the rest of them and saying what was on all their minds. "Raori? What's going on?"

Raori held up a hand for silence, glancing back at the wind mistress. "Takinoshi will explain," she said quietly. "Simply understand that I have no other choice." With that, she was gone.

They watched as the two left. A few minutes later Takinoshi returned to the prison, knowing that he owed them an explanation, one that Raori wanted him to give them. They looked to him when he entered, their gazes both angry and curious.

"She is going at my request," he said. "She is gong to destroy the hanyou known as Naraku."

"NARAKU?"

The shout tore from every throat except Sesshomaru's. He winced slightly as his sensitive ears throbbed, but watched Takinoshi for a response, his heart thumping wildly. Raori couldn't fight Naraku. He'd done so before, and he knew for a fact she wouldn't be able to escape such a fight without fatal wounds. And the worst part was that it would be their fault if she died – partially his fault. She was risking her life, possibly even giving it away, all for them. This wasn't at all turning out to be the rescue he'd envisioned – it was horrible. He'd rather stay here, in prison, than have her destroy herself in trying to get him out.

Finally Sango voiced the question that was on all their minds. "How do you know Naraku?"

"A while ago, he stole a shikon shard from me," Takinoshi explained. "One of two that I had. Raori agreed to go and retrieve it from him in return for your freedom. If she does not succeed, you will still be released – such was her wish."

Everyone remained silent, saddened by what they had learned. They had been fighting Naraku for as long as they could remember, and now Raori was being forced to face him alone. It wasn't fair.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Raori walked until she thought she would collapse before lying down to rest.

When she woke, she decided to transform into her wolf self – her true form. She could travel faster that way, and conserve energy, and in that form, her scent was less easily detected. She began trotting through the lands, moving as quickly as she could towards the outer boundaries of Takinoshi's lands. She still didn't know how she'd find Naraku, but she knew she'd find some way.

When midafternoon came around, she began searching for food. She hadn't eaten in many, many days. She sniffed the air, still in her true form, and caught the scent of a pack of wolves – led by a demon, if her nose was correct. She set off towards them, ready to fight or flee if they decided to attack, too curious to pass up the chance that they might be able to help her.

She made her way into the thick forest and found the pack. They were following a tall demon, in humanoid form, who strode along at the front. He was looking back at the wolves, making sure they were all still behind him and accounted for.

Raori trotted out of the woods, still in wolf form, and decided to take her chances. The demon looked at her in surprise. "You're not one of mine," he said, cocking his head at her. "Where'd you come from?"

In response, Raori transformed into her human form again, her eyes the only part of her that remained the same. His eyes widened at the sight of her and he fell into a fighting stance, ready to defend himself.

Raori held up a hand to show that she meant no harm. He relaxed slightly, still watching her, slightly wary.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything of the hanyou Naraku?" she asked halfheartedly. She didn't expect him to, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

The wolf-demon's eyes hardened. "Yeah," he said hostily. "Why?"

Raori brightened slightly. "I am searching for him."

"What for?" he asked warily.

"To kill him."

He relaxed with a sigh. "Good," he said in relief, nodding to her with renewed respect. "I'm his enemy, too. What made you decide to kill the guy?"

"I was sent to destroy him by someone who holds a grudge. Personally, I know next to nothing about him."

"I know a bunch."

"Why are you out after him?"

"One of his people – a wind-demon, Kagura – killed my kin. I'm out to kill both of them now."

Raori raised an eyebrow. "Kagura killed your comrades? That's a shame. I suppose you ought to know, then – she's turned on Naraku and is fighting him now, along with a child exterminator called Kohaku that he controlled. The two of them are being held by a demon named Takinoshi, along with a few others. Takinoshi sent me to kill Naraku in return for their lives. Naraku apparently stole a shikon shard from Takinoshi."

The wolf-demon nodded, taking all this in. "You said there were a few others. Who were they?"

"A hanyou, Inuyasha…"

"What! Dog-turd?" the wolf-demon yipped. "You know him? What's he have to do with this Takinoshi guy? Man, I'm gonna have fun laughing at dog-turd for getting captured…"

"I guess there's no love lost between you guys," she said with a slight laugh.

"Nah, we pretty much hate each other." The wolf-demon sighed. "Whatever. Who's this Takinoshi guy?"

"He's a strong demon who has the last shikon shard," she explained. "Inuyasha and his group, with Kagura and Sesshomaru, went out to find him, using me as their guide."

The wolf nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I'll help you track down Naraku and kill him, if you want, but it's not out of pity for dog-turd. You mind if I tag along?"

"I'd greatly appreciate it,' she said gratefully. "I could certainly use the help."

"Awesome. By the way, the name's Kouga."

"Raori."

Kouga nodded. "Come on, let's go – I can lead you to Naraku, I think. I know his scent – if you've been around Kagura, sodo you. It's the same as hers, since she came from him. Anyway, here's what you need to know – he usually doesn't fight, he sends a fake copy of himself – a puppet, to do the dirty work for him. We have to sniff out the real him, which takes a while. Also, if you see a wasp demon, it's one of his insect spies – keep out of its way. Oh, and he loves to use miasma – poison, when he fights…"

And so it went on as they traveled, Raori listening and learning as they went. Neither wanted to take a break to rest, for time was of the essence, and it would help to sneak up on Naraku when he was least expecting them – the sooner, the better. So they walked through the night, speaking quietly to one another, Kouga teaching, Raori listening. Kouga's wolves left as night fell – they couldn't travel as quickly as he and Raori could, and tired easier. When they had gone, the remaining two sped up, moving as quickly as their strenth would allow.

They weren't that close to Naraku, as Kouga could hardly smell him, but he had some idea in which direction the hanyou was, so they set off where his instincts told him, heading for one of the biggest fights of their lives.

* * *

So, how'd you like it? Kinda long. Well, now I'm in the mood for writing, so why not start the next chappie? I'll try to update as soon as I can. Review, please! You do your part, I'll do mine. Anyway, if anybody wants to review with ideas for titles of chapters, that'd be awesome! I'll accept anything you wanna send, though I can't promise I'll use it, but I need ideas here, people! Like one for the chapter where they face Naraku, or something. 

See you!


	11. Finding Naraku

Hey again!I feel like writing, so I'm back! Hope you like the story. It's fun to write. I hope it's just as fun for you to read.

On with the story…

* * *

Morning in the underground prison was a grim affair. None of them had any way of knowing whether Raori was even still alive. They tried to reassure themselves by pointing out that she could never have found Naraku so quickly, but that thought couldn't banish their fears. Nothing could.

They were delivered food by a servant of Takinoshi in the afternoon. Only the humans ate. Inuyasha found that he wasn't hungry and gave his share to Kagome.

They were all silent, gazing off into different parts of the prison, but their thoughts were all the same – hoping Raori was all right. Sesshomaru was annoyed by this – he should have been trying to think of a way to escape this place, not worrying about her. She could take care of herself.

But he couldn't get his thoughts off her.

He tried many times. He looked over the prison, searching for weaknesses. He brooded on his hatred for Takinoshi. He thought of everything he could that didn't concern her – but found that in avoiding thoughts of her, he only missed her more.

Frustrated, he began to pace inside his cell, his thoughts racing. If only there was some way they could get help for her…

Suddenly he narrowed his eyes. Maybe they could talk Takinoshi into letting a few of them go out and help her fight. After all, if she failed, he didn't get his shard – and if he kept some of them imprisoned, he still held the power to make them do what he wanted. What could it hurt?

When the dark servant entered with their food again at night, he spoke to it. "Send for Takinoshi," he said, his voice quiet. The others glanced up in surprise – it was the first word anyone had spoken that entire day.

The servant glanced at Sesshomaru for a moment and disappeared, giving no reply.

However, a few moments later, Takinoshi descended into the room.

"I have a proposition for you," Sesshomaru said quietly, gaining everyone's attention. "Naraku is the most powerful half-demon I have laid eyes on – more powerful than most full-fledged demons. Raori cannot face him by herself."

Takinoshi interrupted. "She mentioned this," he said quietly. "I was not aware he was so powerful."

"Our whole group's been tryin' to kill him for forever," Inuyasha growled. "And we still haven't managed it."

Takinoshi looked slightly surprised, but glanced back at Sesshomaru, gesturing for him to go on. The demon did so, his eyes on Takinoshi's. "I would ask that you allow some of us to go to her aid."

"Having you here is the only reason I can force her to go," Takinoshi pointed out.

"Then only send a few of us," Kagura continued, understanding Sesshomaru's point. "Then we will have to do as you ask for the sake of the ones you keep here."

"You might as well," Kagome said, a light of new hope in her eyes. "I mean, if she doesn't beat him, you won't get your shard back – if you send more of us, it's more likely we'll succeed."

"And more likely that you'll ignore Naraku and come together to try and rescue your friends," he replied. "With only a few in here and most of you loose, it would be no problem to break in and release them. I am no fool. Don't insult me by assuming I am."

"We're not," Kagome quickly said. "We're the good guys – the honest ones. If we say we'll go destroy Naraku, you can trust that that's what we'll do. Besides, we hate him anyway, and any chance to destroy him is one we'll take. Just let a few of us go, please! Raori will die if she goes up against him alone."

Takinoshi turned away, seeing both their logic and all the things that could go wrong. "I will consider it," he said coldly.

"Consider it? We don't have time! She could be dead by now!"

He glared at Kagome. "If this Naraku is as powerful and clever as you claim, miko, undoubtedly she has not found him yet. Continue arguing and it will be you who does not survive."

She fell silent, glaring right back at him, and he left the prison angrily.

Sesshomaru resumed his pacing. That hadn't gone as well as he would've liked, but at least Takinoshi knew what they wanted – and saw the reason for it. It was still possible he would change his mind and do as they asked.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Raori couldn't say she wasn't nervous, but she certainly was glad that Kouga was with her. The wolf-demon had told her everything she needed to know, and thanks to his help, she felt ready to fight. It was a shame that all the late-night training Inuyasha's group had done would be for nothing – they'd prepared so hard for a fight with Naraku, and now she was the only one there. She could start the same kind of practice with Kouga, but when there were only two, there wasn't much of a point. Still, they practiced some, when they grew weary of travel and wanted to rest. They discussed strategy. They didn't put much heart into it, as Kouga thought of all battles as totally unpredictable and found it pointless to prepare.

They moved onwards, not stopping, searching always for Naraku's scent. They found it sooner than they'd hoped to – around midday, Kouga noticed it lingering slightly southwards of them. They followed it, pausing every once in a while to sniff the air and be sure it was still there. It led them to the mouth of a stone cave.

Raori peered inside. Even her demonic eyesight couldn't pierce the darkness of the caverns. She glanced at Kouga, who was cautiously sniffing the entrance.

"I doubt it's really Naraku," he murmured to Raori. "Probably just a puppet."

Raori shrugged. "Why not fight it anyway? I'll have some idea what the real Naraku's like."

Kouga nodded, and they entered the cave, side by side, relying on their noses rather than their eyes. After a while, they became used to the darkness, and wandered through the many caves searching for their prey.

Finally, after what felt like forever, they emerged into a giant room, lit with torches along the walls. It was cold and silent inside. They stood in the entrance, staring around. The place looked deserted. Of course, Kouga noted, it would be just like Naraku to trick them by putting them off their guard…

Sure enough, a second later something shot for them. Both leapt out of the way, watching as the dark shape moved back slightly, glaring at them. They could just make out the form of Naraku – tall, the baboon pelt's eyes leering at them. Raori hesitated, narrowing her eyes at the strange hanyou, and Kouga stiffened. "That's him," he growled quietly. "We can't usually see his face thanks to the stupid pelt. Careful, he's got poisonous arms that'll come up out of the ground, so don't ever let your guard down."

Raori had gone before he'd finished speaking, darting out of the way as one of the posionous arms sprung up from the ground underneath her. The puppet hissed, glaring at her. Raori glared right back at him, circling him for a moment before darting for him.

She was blocked by a barrage of tentacles, which swiped at her fiercely. She slashed at them and they fell to the floor lifelessly, but more quickly took their place, and she found herself unable to touch Naraku himself.

Kouga had attacked, but was having the same problem. They fell back, glancing at one another. Raori thought quickly, motioning for him to go around to Naraku's other side. He did so, the shikon shards in his legs assisting him in moving so quickly that Naraku didn't notice. Raori attacked the tentacles before her, swiping out with such ferocity that they fell before her like flies. Naraku snarled in anger, turning all his attention towards her, but she leapt up over his attacks and went on destroying his many arms as though she did it every day.

It was while he was trying to stop her that Kouga attacked him from behind. The wolf kicked the hanyou in the back, sending him reeling. Raori leapt out of the way as tentacles went flying. Naraku whirled around to face the wolf-demon, and Raori took advantage of this to strike at Naraku's shoulder and send him to his knees. Confused, being attacked from both sides, Naraku sent out another barrage of tentacles, but the two demons fought side by side and sliced them to pieces, seeing that Naraku was tiring. When the hanyou stumbled slightly under the effort of holding them back, they took advantage of the moment, leaping forward.

In an instant, Raori's claws had slashed his chest, leaving a trail of blood and fire. Naraku yelled at her angrily and started towards her, but was stopped by Kouga's fist in his side.

He threw them off, backing away angrily. The two demons didn't give him a moment's rest, instead leaping at him and attacking again. Naraku angrily called up one last tentacle attack – but he was too slow, for even as the arms rose up from the ground, Raori had slashed him across the back and he fell to the ground, crumbling away into nothing. Kouga quickly crushed the wooden figure that appeared in its place.

They'd defeated the puppet.

They left the caves, backtracking out into the sunlight. Neither spoke, but there was a sense of companionship between them. They'd fought their first battle together and survived. Kouga had almost enjoyed it, too – it was nice to fight alongside someone who was fast and strong, like him. Inuyasha was so slow it was almost boring fighting him. Raori was faster – it sped up the battle, and he didn't have to wait on anyone else. She was impressive. He was starting to look forward to the fight against the real Naraku, with someone like her on his side.

Maybe they had a chance after all.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Takinoshi sat back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table as he thought over the situation. He could see Sesshomaru's point – if Raori failed to defeat Naraku, which was looking more and more likely, he could lose his shard for good. He knew what would happen then – since he had the last shard, Naraku would come back for it and take it the same way he took the first one. The last thing Takinoshi wanted was for the hanyou to get all the shards and become a true demon.

"I have no choice," he muttered to himself. "I really don't. She needs help."

He sighed, rising from his desk and reaching across it to take the keys from their hook on the wall. His mind was made up. He didn't really have any other choice. No matter how he disliked the prospect, he knew what he had to do.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Raori and Kouga wandered through the maze of valleys that covered the land for miles around. After they'd defeated the puppet, Kouga had lost the scent of Naraku, and they were left to simply wander and hope they would come across something and get lucky.

They wandered for a while, but they couldn't find the scent anywhere, and as night fell they decided that they would start asking around in villages. It was possible someone had noticed the half-demon and could tell them in what direction he was traveling. They turned east and asked around in every village they found, but the villagers shooed them away, wary of them being demons and claiming they'd never heard of anybody called 'Naraku.'

No luck.

Two days after they'd fought and defeated the puppet of Naraku, they came across a nice, quiet little village. The few warriors that lived there caught sight of the two demons and prepared for a battle, but Raori quickly called out to them and assured the villagers they meant no harm.

"We come without violence in mind," she assured them. They paused, hesitating, and Kouga went on.

"We're looking for a half-demon called Naraku. You seen him around, by any chance?"

The soldiers nodded grimly. "He passed through here not two days ago. He wrecked the miko's home, and the chief elder's, too. We're trying to rebuild them now."

The two demons glanced at each other. A new light of hope shone in their eyes. They hadn't had any news in days – maybe this would prove helpful. The soldiers listened curiously as they spoke to one another. "Do you think we should stop?" Raori questioned, looking to Kouga. "We probably won't be able to catch up with Naraku, so I see no point in moving onward just yet. We may as well take any opportunity that we can get to rest and regain what strength we have used up already in this chase."

Kouga shrugged and nodded. "I guess that's not a bad idea. If you guys would be so kind, we'd like to stay a night in your village," he said, turning back to the soldiers. "We're out huntin' Naraku, and now that we've got some news as to where he's headed, we may as well take a break."

The soldiers glanced at one another hesitantly. "We would be foolish to accept demons into our village so readily," one said after a moment.

"I will help in rebuilding your damaged houses, as a token of my gratitude," Raori said quietly.

Kouga nodded. "Yeah, same here."

The men considered their offer a moment longer before nodding and bowing to them. "Thank you, youkai. Come with us. We will see what the miko says of this. If she approves, you may stay."

They followed the soldiers back down the hill and into the village.

The miko was slightly reluctant. "I don't know," she said doubtfully when the soldiers finished telling of their request for a night in the village. "We have already had enough trouble as it is – how can I trust that you won't attack us while we are still weak?"

Raori replied calmly, knowing that they would need the rest and accepting that she might have to bow down to a few humans to get it – all things considered, they had every right to be wary, and she didn't blame them. These were troubled times. "With all due respect, honored miko," she cut in, "if we had any ill will towards your village, we could have destroyed it long ago. I assure you, we have no foul intentions towards you, and merely ask that we be allowed a night of rest before going after the hanyou."

Kouga nodded. "Yeah, your soldiers said he passed by here not too long ago. We're out after him. We need to get some rest before we head out again. We'd only need to stay one night, and we'd help with rebuilding those huts Naraku tore down."

The miko eyed them suspiciously. "Why do you need to rest? You are youkai; you do not need sleep as much as humans do. You could certainly do without it."

"We've both been through quite a bit," Kouga shrugged. "Her especially. Besides, we'd need to stay, at least for a little while, and ask around the village for any information anybody's got regarding Naraku, like where he was going and what he wanted."

The miko hesitated. "If we agreed to let you stay here for one night, would you tell us the tale of how you came to be here and why you are after Naraku?"

Raori nodded. "Yes, I would do that."

"Then I suppose I shall accept you as guests in our village." The miko nodded to them and rose. "Now, walk with me for a short while. I am curious as to why two demons are so intent on chasing a hanyou across these lands. What has this Naraku done to you to cause you to despise him so?"

They got up and followed her out into the village. She walked with them down by the springs that lined the edge of the village, listening to their story with interest.

Kouga started, telling of how Kagura had destroyed his kin. The miko nodded sympathetically as he continued with his story from then up until the point where he'd met Raori.

The miko turned to Raori. "And you? How did you come to be after Naraku?"

Raori sighed slightly. "It all began in a mansion that I owned in the Western Lands. A hanyou, Inuyasha, and a group of humans that traveled with him approached me, asking for jewel shards. I had none, and told them so. A flea with them informed me that he had heard a rumor saying I was in possession of the last shard.

"From his description of the demon who told him that rumor, I learned that a taiyoukai called Takinoshi held the last shard. I went with Inuyasha and his brother, Sesshomaru, to find it. With us were a miko, an exterminator and her younger brother, a houshi, a kitsune, a fire-cat demon, and a wind-demon, the one that had destroyed Kouga's kin and turned on Naraku. We headed North and found the range of volcanoes that Takinoshi resided in. It didn't take long for him to find us, and we fought him upon the side of the mountains."

Raori paused a moment, remembering. "In the middle of our battle, a landslide swept down upon us and we were all seperated. Takinoshi took advantage of that seperation and saw it as a weakness – he captured everyone in the group but myself. I fled from him, determining to set the others free.

"Not long after, Takinoshi found me, but rather than capture me, he asked that we make a deal. In return for the freedom of my friends, he would have me do a deed for him."

"What deed?" the miko asked, listening curiously.

"He asked that I kill Naraku. Apparently, Takinoshi had been in possession of two shards, and Naraku had stolen one of them. He wanted Naraku dead, but he couldn't leave his lands to chase the half-demon. I agreed to do it, and set out to find Naraku. On my way, I met Kouga, and he has helped me prepare for a fight, as he knows more of Naraku than I. We have searched high and low, but found only a puppet of the real Naraku. I fear the creature that passed through this village was also nothing more than a puppet, but I would follow it anyway, for it may lead us to the true Naraku."

The miko nodded thoughtfully. "Whatever attacked our village went west after leaving," she informed them. "I recognized it from the tales foreigners tell as Naraku, the half-demon who wears a baboon pelt. I do not know whether it was a puppet or not, but it was strong."

Raori nodded. "I am not surprised."

The miko sighed and gestured to a building on their left. "That is the inn; the woman just inside will give you rooms to stay the night in."

They bowed thankfully to her and she turned away, leaving them to themselves. They kept walking in silence until they came to the two damaged huts. The villagers were hard at work rebuilding them, but they could see that it would take a long time and a lot of hard work. Raori approached them, her eyes examining the houses. She could see the way they were built, and realized that a strong blow would simply tear them down again.

"It'll be a lot easier If you change the structure," she informed the men, gesturing as they glanced at her in surprise. "Cross the planks there. It will grow to be more sturdy and won't collapse the next time you are attacked."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," one of them commented. "Thanks."

She nodded, offering politely to help them with the construction. They agreed, staring as she and Kouga worked alongside them, youkai mingling with ningens. Not many would do this for them. They supposed they'd better take advantage of the extra hands while they still could.

By nightfall, both huts were raised to suitable standards. Raori leapt gracefully from hut to hut, doing her best to fix the roofs so that the nighttime rains wouldn't disturb the newly replaced floors. One little boy climbed up beside her, holding the boards in place while she secured them. She thanked him and moved on to another part of the roof. He started to follow, but lost his footing and slipped with a startled cry.

Raori was there in a flash, catching his wrist before he could hit the ground and lowering him gently into his mother's arms. The woman thanked her gratefully, but the demon had already vanished over the side of the roof once again.

When the two demons had done all they could to help, they met up back at the inn and were given two rooms by the innkeeper, an old lady who thanked them profusely for their help.

They settled down to rest, both knowing that tomorrow would be a long day.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Takinoshi made his way down the steps and into the jail, glancing around at his prisoners. They glanced up at the sight of him, all of them silent. His eyes swept over them – the half-demon standing protectively over the miko, the monk doing the same for the exterminator, the wind-demon clenching her fists and glaring at him.

Takinoshi didn't know much about Naraku, but he knew enough to realize that the evil hanyou was strong – very strong. They'd need all the help they could get. And it was obvious that these people all hated Naraku with a passion. If they promised him that they'd help Raori, he trusted it.

"Get up," he ordered them all.

"Why should we?" Inuyasha snarled back angrily.

"If you want to stay here, that's fine with me," Takinoshi shot back with a shrug, revealing the keys.

"You're going to let us help Raori?" Kagome asked hopefully.

Takinoshi didn't reply, but unlocked her cell and nodded to their weapons, which were lying the corner. She ran over and handed Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha, who took it, looking slightly relieved to have his sword back again. Kagome watched as Takinoshi freed Sango and Miroku, then Kirara and Kohaku.

"You will all be released," Takinoshi informed them, setting Kagura free and nodding to her as she stepped out into the open. "And you will all fight Naraku. I have realized that you are right; Raori cannot do it alone."

Shippo hesitated. "What about you?"

"I will accompany you," Takinoshi said, unlocking the last cell and releasing Sesshomaru.

"And help us defeat Naraku?" Kagome said, eyes wide. "That would be so great of you!"

Takinoshi glanced at her and nodded.

Inuyasha smirked slightly. "Naraku's as good as dead," he growled, turning towards the doorway and leaving the prison. The group emerged into the sunlight once more, breathing in the fresh air. Sesshomaru finished tying Tenseiga and Toujikin to his waist and emerged last, glancing around at the rocky volcano range.

"Which way?" Sango asked, fastening Hiraikotsu on her back.

"South," Takinoshi replied, nodding in the right direction. "After Naraku took my shard, that is the direction he went. I have not been able to catch his scent since, but if he had returned North, I would have been aware."

Inuyasha let Kagome on his back. "Let's go, then," he said in his usual impatient voice.

They prepared to leave, and ascended into the air as one group, united for a single purpose and determined to remain together at any cost.

_Inuyasha may be right, for once,_ Kagome thought as she glanced over at Takinoshi. The dark demon was at the head of the group, his long hair streaming out behind him as he led them south. She smiled slightly to herself – he'd come around. Takinoshi was powerful, something their fight with him had made all too clear. Having him on their side would help them a lot.

_Naraku is as good as dead._

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Raori woke early in the morning, when the sun was still beneath the horizon. Kouga was already awake and speaking with the miko about Naraku. Most of the villagers were still asleep, but a few were at work on the houses already. They nodded to her as she walked by.

A lot was on her mind. She knew enough about Naraku to know that she should be intimidated by him. She had enough to worry about, what with the fight she knew was coming and the fact that she may not survive it. Now that she thought about it, though, that wasn't even the extent of her problems. Takinoshi was up there on the list. Could she trust him to release her friends after this was all over, or would he break his word and keep them locked away? Could his promise to her be false? Was Naraku really as strong as Kouga claimed, and could he really destroy both her and the wolf demon? For that matter, could they even find Naraku? There were so many things that could go wrong, and such a small chance that any of it could go right…

She shook herself, pushing such pessimistic thoughts out of her mind and returning to the world around her. She didn't know if she would succeed, or even live, but if they were going to do any fighting, she'd have to stay alert and ready for a fight. She had learned that it was the only way to stay alive.

When she finally came upon Kouga and the village miko, it was to see that they had finished speaking. Kouga was ready to go, and restlessly waited as Raori thanked the miko for her generosity and bade her goodbye.

"The pleasure is entirely ours," the miko said kindly. "You have shown the people of this village that all youkai are not as violent and dangerous as their reputations claim. Thank you, and may good luck light your path and guide you to Naraku. Be careful."

Raori gave her a smile and turned east with Kouga, moving to the edge of the village. The rest of the villagers looked up and waved farewell to them as they turned to the road ahead and departed.

They traveled in silence for a while, moving quickly and keeping their senses alert for any sign of Naraku or his puppets. They traveled for hours without stopping, and finally, as dusk was beginning to fall, Kouga paused to sniff the air experimentally. Raori landed beside him, watching as he sifted through the many smells of the forest and settled on one.

"Naraku," he growled triumphantly.

Raori smirked slightly. "At last."

"He's there," Kouga said after a moment, nodding to a mountain range that was just barely visible on the edge of the horizon. "Can you smell him?"

Raori nodded, testing the wind as it blew towards them. "Yes. It is a slightly different smell from that of the puppet we faced. Does that mean…"

"It's the real Naraku," Kouga nodded. "I think so."

"Now all we have to do is hope he doesn't change location before we can reach him," Raori nodded, turning to the mountains and setting off, Kouga right beside her.

The fight would be hard, they knew, and there was always that dark possibility that they wouldn't live through it, but right then, darting through the beautiful forest with the wind blowing wildly past them, they felt as though they could do anything.

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Takinoshi stopped them as dusk fell. They had covered a considerable distance, but none of them had caught Naraku's smell. Raori's was faint, but they could smell it, and were tracking her southward across the vast forests. If they could only catch up to her before she met Naraku…

Sometime in the late afternoon, Inuyasha had stopped running, having caught another scent. A few minutes of sniffing around told him who the smell belonged to.

"Kouga," he growled angrily. "What does that mangy wolf think he's doing?"

"Kouga's with Raori?" Kagome asked, her eyes lighting up. "That's good news!"

"What!"

"Oh, come on, Inuyasha. At least now Raori isn't alone, and she's got someone with her who knows all about Naraku. I know you don't like Kouga, but he's really not that bad, and it's nice of him to help like this."

Inuyasha grumbled, but took off again, following the two scents as they traveled in a fairly straight line.

They rested a little during the night; Kirara and Inuyasha were slowing down a little. In the morning, Takinoshi picked up Raori's scent again and followed it, noticing that Kouga's traveled alongside it the entire time.

They reached a small cave and entered cautiously – they could smell Raori, Kouga, and Naraku, all from inside the dark cavern. Slowly, they advanced, ready for a fight, but what they found told them that there was no danger.

Shippo jumped down from Kagome's shoulder and examined the crushed doll that had once been a puppet.

"Looks like they beat it," Inuyasha commented, sniffing the doll. "Not bad."

"Come," Takinoshi said, turning back towards the edge of the cave. "We will find nothing here. Let us continue onward. Their smells are faint, but I can still make them out."

They followed him past a series of villages until they came to one where the two scents lingered, as though Raori and Kouga had spent some time there. The group was met by a group of soldiers who warily fetched the miko to come and greet the strange band.

"Greetings," Takinoshi said politely, moving to stand in front of the others. "We come in search of two demons who passed through here not long ago."

The miko narrowed her eyes. "What business do you have with them?"

"We're their friends," Kagome replied, moving to stand beside Takinoshi. "You saw them?"

"Raori and Kouga?" the miko remembered. "Yes, the two young demons searching for Naraku. They stayed the night not two days ago and helped us rebuild a few houses that Naraku had destroyed when he attacked."

"Which way did they go?" Inuyasha asked, sniffing the air.

The miko gestured east. "They were tracking Naraku, and we sent them east, the direction he went after his attack on our village. If you are searching for your friends, due east is the way you want to go."

"Thank you so much," Kagome said thankfully.

The miko nodded to her. "You may feel free to rest here awhile, if you wish to," she offered.

Takinoshi shook his head, taking charge again. "We cannot. We strive to reach Raori and Kouga before they come across Naraku. If we are to do so, we had better not stop, not even for rest."

The miko nodded. "Good luck. Give Raori and Kouga my regards when you meet them. You are welcome in this village, if you should ever need shelter, any of you." She bowed to them and moved aside to let them pass.

They immediately darted onwards, heading east and hoping they weren't too late.

They traveled through the night, moving as quickly as they could. The scents were getting stronger, which must mean they were getting closer. Inuyasha was grateful, though he didn't say it aloud – he didn't know how long he could keep up this long-distance running. He was starting to tire.

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As they approached the mountain range, Kouga and Raori saw that it stretched across the entire horizon for miles – going around it would take more time than they wanted to waste.

They decided to stop for the night at the base of the first mountain and take the long trek through them the next day. They didn't need the rest as much as they needed something to eat. Kouga was on the lookout for a boar or a deer, but all he found was a wild pig the size of a large cat. He caught it easily, and roasted it over a fire, sitting back and letting the wonderful smell waft past his nose.

"There's a spring not far away," Raori informed him, sitting and watching as the meat sizzled over the fire. "In case you're thirsty."

Kouga nodded. "Yeah, I'll head down there after we eat," he said, licking his lips.

Raori smiled as he began to drool and closed her eyes, leaning back against a tree. "You know," she said with a sigh, "except for the part where we're chasing a hanyou that's supposed to be more powerful than anyone we've ever fought and the fact that we might not live to tell about it, this is kind of nice."

Kouga nodded his agreement. "Yeah. It could sure be worse."

Raori glanced over at him. "Thanks for coming with me. It'd be much, much worse if I had to do all this alone. I'm glad I've got somebody with me."

Kouga gave her a lopsided grin. "Same here. You're not bad to have in a fight, either."

Raori smiled back at him and closed her eyes again, settling down, feeling a sense of security come over her as she relaxed slightly.

(A/N: No, this is not going to turn into a Kouga / Raori fic. Just consider yourself in her situation. I'd be glad Kouga was there, too. Especially if he caught dinner for me…)

When the sun began to creep over the horizon again, they moved on, entering the mountain range and warily keeping a lookout for danger. Kouga knew from experience that Naraku could appear without warning, and kept his guard up as he ran onward. Raori followed, her nose informing her that they were getting closer. Naraku was in the mountain range, probably only a few hours away from them.

The time was drawing near.

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The group stopped again when they found the camp Kouga and Raori had stopped at. The embers of the fire were still slightly warm – they were catching up. They'd traveled all through the night, and only stopped once, to let Inuyasha take a minute to catch his breath. He was really starting to tire.

As they landed and let the exhausted hanyou take a drink from the nearby spring, Kagura approached a tired Kagome. "He has been running nonstop for almost two days," she said under her breath to the miko, who nodded. "He needs to rest."

"I know," Kagome sighed. "I feel like I'm weighing him down."

"You can ride with me," Kagura suggested. "It would help him move faster."

Takinoshi glanced over at them from where he stood beside Sesshomaru. "Now that we know we're close, the faster we can go, the better," he said to them.

Kagome nodded enthusiastically. "Thanks, Kagura!" she said thankfully.

Inuyasha returned to see Kagura help Kagome onto the large white feather. "Kagome, what're you doing?" he said warily, though by then he basically trusted Kagura.

"Helping you," she replied. "I'm going to ride with Kagura so you don't have to carry me."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said, not bothering to put up a fight. The feather lifted into the air, and Kirara followed it, as well as Sesshomaru and Takinoshi. Inuyasha sighed and took off along the ground again. Shippo, riding on Miroku's shoulder, glanced over at Kagome, who was trying to get used to sitting on a giant flying feather. Kagura laughed as the miko held onto the edges, squeezing her eyes shut until she was used to the height.

They moved onward, still following the trail, and as time wore on Takinoshi and Sesshomaru began to catch Naraku's scent. They set their course towards the same mountains Raori and Kouga had just arrived at and sped up, praying they weren't too late.

* * *

Okay, there's that chapter. I realize not much happened, but oh well. In the middle of writing it I had an idea for the next chapter, so that one will be coming out soon. I've decided, now that I've got the ending in mind, I'll just go ahead and finish the story. I hope you guys like it.

Thanks to HahaI'mBetterThanYou for reviewing The Aftermath. You're awesome! And if anybody's got any ideas for any further stories, or for some stuff I can add into this one before I finish it, please speak up – you won't ruin the story, I promise! I used to think I wouldn't be able to write at all, and I would never have seen myself publishing anything, not even on but if you just keep writing you get good at it, or so people tell me. I still have a lot to work on, but I write constantly, so I'm getting better.

At first I wasn't sure if I should bring Kouga into it, but then I figured I might as well. Looking back, I saw that Kagome hadn't really told her much about fights with Naraku, so she needed somebody to help her out. Kouga was just an idea that popped into my head. I mean, why not? He's cool, and although Inu doesn't like to admit it, he's really powerful. I know a lot of people like to bash Kouga, but I think he's not that bad, so in this story he's good! I don't like bashing… except Naraku! Kukuku…

Til next time!


	12. Life or Love?

Hey again! I just posted an hour ago, but I'm writing again. I'm at my friend's house and my sister's playing N64 and my friend's watching and I'm over here on the sofa typing away… and I think I know what's going to happen, and maybe this will even be the last chapter, or the next to last chapter, because the entire point is for them to defeat Naraku, and they've almost found him by now… so let's just see what happens, 'kay?

Yeah, I kind of forgot to put up a disclaimer in the last chapter. I'm not good at remembering to do that. So, for this chapter and for the last one, I don't own Inu or any of those characters. I do own Takinoshi and Raori, though, and that miko they met that I never thought to give a name to. Yeah. So keep away from them! They're mine! All mine! GRR!

* * *

Raori and Kouga kept both eyes open as they passed through the range. Naraku's scent was becoming more and more evident, and soon it was so strong that they knew they were in the right place. Now it was only a matter of finding Naraku before he found them. 

They walked silently, using their ears, their noses, and their eyes to search for the half-demon. They were growing closer – they could smell his scent getting stronger. They trekked onwards, keeping a lookout, knowing they were very, very close to what could be the biggest fight of their lives.

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Takinoshi paused and sniffed the air. They were deep inside the mountain range, and he could smell that they were getting closer not only to Raori and Kouga, but to Naraku. All three scents were strong, and he judged by his nose that they were no more than an hour's walk behind their friends.

He glanced back at the others, who had stopped for a moment. Kagura and Sesshomaru were still fine, as it took almost no effort for them to travel at high speeds, but Kirara and Inuyasha were starting to tire.

"We will go a little slower from here on in," Takinoshi informed them. He turned back to the path and led them on foot, looking out for danger. He wasn't at all tired – like Sesshomaru, leaping through the sky took no effort on his part, and he prided himself on his endurance.

They moved onward, hoping beyond hope that they weren't too late. The only comfort was that none of them could smell any blood yet. That meant the battle probably hadn't started, and they still had a chance to catch up before it began.

Inuyasha shared a glance with Kagome. He could tell she was nervous, and worrying about Kouga and Raori wasn't making things any better. He gave her a slight smile and she returned it, feeling a little better.

Despite the fact that he could be a total loser and insensitive at times, Inuyasha always seemed to make her feel better when the situation looked otherwise hopeless. Even now, trekking after their friends towards a fight that could get them all killed, he had the ability to cheer her up with one small smile.

Sango looked at the two and felt a sigh escape her. She envied that connection between them, that they could share a smile and understand one another, that they had that love to depend on.

Kohaku heard her sigh and glanced up at her. Sango looked down at him and gave him a reassuring smile, putting an arm around his shoulders. She remembered the innocent little boy he had once been, before Naraku was dragged into their lives, and how nervous he had been when he set out on his first hunt. He'd grown so much since then, been through so much. She'd thought she'd never get to see that innocent little boy again, and it had nearly broken her heart; but then Sesshomaru brought him back, something she was still eternally grateful for.

_I won't let Naraku take you away from me again, Kohaku,_ she thought with a fierce determination in her eyes.

Kohaku smiled back at her, gripping his sickle tightly in his hand. _I don't know if I can do it,_ he thought sadly. _Face Naraku, after all I know he's done to me and to Sango… but I have to try. For her. _

Miroku watched the two siblings exchange silent glances and smiled to himself. Ever since they had been reunited, Sango had been much happier. He was grateful to Sesshomaru for giving that happiness to her, and wouldn't have had it any other way. Deep down inside him, he knew that he loved Sango. He only wished he had the courage to tell her. _If we do defeat Naraku, _he promised himself, _I will. I'll tell her. _He couldn't do it until Naraku was gone – if they didn't defeat him in time, and Miroku was sucked into the Wind Tunnel, he didn't want to make it any harder on Sango than it already had to be. It would only be more painful for her if he told her and then was taken away from her so unfairly.

Sesshomaru was trying his hardest to pay attention to the world around him; he knew that if he let his guard down while in such dangerous territory, Naraku could attack and he wouldn't realize until it was too late.

But he couldn't concentrate on anything other than Raori.

She was out there, possibly already in a fight for her life, and he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't deny it – ever since he'd learned where she was going, there wasn't a period in time for more than ten minutes in which his thoughts didn't turn back to her. He was worried – or, at least, that was what he assumed the feeling was that was gnawing painfully at his gut.

He didn't know what had happened to him, and he wasn't sure whether he liked it or not. Raori had changed him. He didn't know how she did it, or why, but he was affected by her. The feeling reminded him of his fondness for Rin, but… it was different. It was deeper, in a way. It was more than just wanting to protect her, although that came to mind, as well – it was wanting her to be content, wanting what was best for her, even if that meant that it was someone else standing by her side.

Takinoshi looked over them all, noting the looks they shared and guessing the connections between them. The two exterminators were siblings, that much was obvious, and he could tell by the look on the monk's face that he was in love with the elder of the two. From the looks the half-demon shared with the miko, it was obvious they were in love. Sesshomaru was, as always, stoic and difficult to read, but Takinoshi could tell just by looking at him that his thoughts were in turmoil.

_Raori_, the dark taiyoukai realized. _He is in love with Raori. That is the reason for his distraction. _

Kagura had noticed it, too, and was smirking to herself. For the famous cold-hearted Lord of the West to have fallen in love… that would be news, indeed. _Just his luck,_ she thought with an inward sigh. _The one time the heartless Sesshomaru falls in love, it's with a demon heading for her death. What'll happen if we arrive too late for Raori? He'll lock his heart up in a fresh ice cube and go back to being the Sesshomaru we all know and hate. We can't have that, now can we? _

She glanced over at him, and despite the look of uncaring iciness on his face, his fists were clenched as he walked as a sign of his anxiety. _Don't worry, Sesshomaru, _she thought, speeding up slightly. _We'll make it in time. Naraku won't get his hands on her. _

Takinoshi glanced at her, and then meaningfully back at Sesshomaru, who was so engrossed in his thoughts he hadn't noticed. At once, she realized Takinoshi had also seen through the demon lord's façade. Kagura smirked slightly and sped up a little more. Takinoshi matched her speed, causing the others to speed up, as well. They had no time to waste.

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Raori and Kouga exchanged a glance as they emerged from the forests into a wide clearing in which Naraku's scent was the strongest it had been. "He's here," Kouga murmured quietly.

They tensed as the clearing darkened slightly – not because the sun had dimmed, but because the intense evil and hate inside their enemy was coming closer and snuffing out the light around them. They couldn't see him yet, but both knew that he was there, and they stood back to back, eyes open, waiting and watching for Naraku to make the first move.

It came suddenly, and even with the help of the two shards in his legs, Kouga barely got out of the way in time to avoid the attack. Miasma-covered tentacles arched up out of the ground where he'd just been standing, and his eyes widened as the ground melted away under the intense power of the poison.

Raori had leaped away the second she felt the ground shake, and stood next to Kouga, watching grimly as the tentacles snuck back into the ground again.

Just as quickly as they had disappeared, they appeared again, slashing out at the two demons as they darted out of the way and to another part of the clearing again. The tentacles retraced once more, and the clearing was again bathed in silence.

Three is the magic number, or so the saying goes; and Naraku's third attack was the worst they had seen. The tentacles slashed at them from the ground, and once again they darted away, but more arms arched up from the ground all around them. Raori grabbed Kouga's arm and yanked him out of the way of another slash and landed on the ground out of the tentacles' range.

Naraku himself appeared then, smirking at them. "Kukuku," he hissed. "You really think you can defeat me?"

Raori and Kouga glanced at one another and let the faintest of smiles pass between them. They knew they might not succeed, but nothing could stop them from trying.

They leaped forward in unison, avoiding Naraku's attacks, and began to slash down the tentacles, moving away before the miasma could affect them. It was difficult for Kouga, as his favorite way to attack involved contact with his enemy, and he couldn't very well punch or kick a tentacle covered in deadly poison, but the sword he had at his waist came in handy. (A/N: Have you ever noticed that? Kouga's got a sword, but never once have I actually seen him use it. Sorry, just a thought… back to the story!)

Raori used her claws to slash the arms to the ground with whips of flame. Naraku lashed out powerfully and they were forced to retreat, slightly winded. The evil hanyou wasn't even breathing hard – this would be harder than she'd expected, Raori thought with a sinking feeling.

Naraku laughed evilly. "Kukuku," he snickered at them. "This day will be the last you see, fools."

They tensed as a giant wave of tentacles arched towards them. They crouched slightly, ready to leap over the attack, when a very familiar voice rang out.

"Wind Scar!"

Raori smiled slightly in relief, watching as the wave was sent crumbling to the ground under the power of Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha landed next to them, smirking at Naraku, who had a look of surprise on his face almost as priceless as the one on Kouga's.

"What took you so long, mutt-face?" Kouga smirked when he'd gotten over his surprise.

"Just waitin' for a chance to make my grand entrance," Inuyasha replied, sneering at Naraku.

Before Naraku could retort, the others strode up – Kagome, Kirara, Shippo, Kohaku, Sango, Miroku, and Sesshomaru. Naraku glared at them, overcoming his surprise at their sudden appearance and acknowledging the fact that he'd have to fight the entire group of bakas, as always.

"You're a fool, Sesshomaru," he hissed at the taiyoukai as Sesshomaru moved to stand beside Inuyasha. "All you will achieve is your own death alongside your worthless half-brother."

Sesshomaru didn't back down an inch. "If it is in a fight with you, then so be it," he shot back.

Inuyasha glanced at him in surprise. Usually Sesshomaru would take advantage of any opportunity to throw a few insults at Inuyasha for being such an insignificant half-breed, but this time the taiyoukai didn't insult his brother and instead stood proudly alongside him.

Raori glanced at Sesshomaru and gave him a slight smile. He returned it, to her surprise, and the two turned to face Naraku again, feeling much more confident now that they had one another.

Naraku snarled at them and sent another wave of tentacles, determined to bring them down once and for all.

He didn't anticipate the attack that struck him powerfully from behind, and stumbled slightly, withdrawing the tentacles to turn and stare at his attacker.

Kagura smirked slightly, landing on the ground and putting away her feather, holding her fan in one hand.

"Traitor!" Naraku yelled at her.

"Bastard!" she shouted back at him defiantly.

Naraku gritted his teeth and started to call her heart up in his hand, determined to destroy her then and there, but another attack from the side forced him to stop and lift his defenses to protect himself. His eyes met the angry, cold ones of Takinoshi.

"How many of you _are _there?" Naraku growled, backing away and slashing at the dark youkai, who dodged out of the way and landed on Raori's other side. She glanced at him thankfully and he nodded to her in response. The two turned back to Naraku as Kagura joined their side, bringing the numbers to eleven against one.

Naraku looked them over, and they saw with satisfaction the dimmest light of fear in his gaze. He hadn't seen this coming, they realized – for them to overcome the feuds they had amongst one another and join up against him like this. They could tell by his expression that he didn't like what he saw, and that he feared what they could do to him when they gathered together as one.

The evil hanyou gritted his teeth as he sized them all up. This was a much larger and stronger assembly than he had anticipated. Inuyasha had gone and made some friends. He wouldn't have expected to see Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and Kouga all side by side as allies. That had come as a bit of a surprise. And the taiyoukai he'd stolen a shard from, Takinoshi, had shown his face outside the mountains. That was something he hadn't counted on. It was unfortunate, as he seemed to remember hearing from some source or another that Takinoshi was powerful, when he was motivated. And this new demon – Raori, was that her name? He hadn't heard of her, but she looked to be strong, and she was certainly determined to be rid of him.

It mattered not; they would all be destroyed soon anyway.

Angrily, he sent a powerful wave at them, cursing darkly under his breath.

They split up, spreading throughout the clearing to surround him. Naraku turned to follow the demons with his eyes, ignoring the humans – other than destroying his tentacles, he knew they couldn't hurt him, and with the wasp insects now buzzing about in the air, the monk couldn't use the Wind Tunnel. His attention was on Raori, Kouga, Takinoshi, Kagura, and Sesshomaru, as well as Inuyasha, who was trying to find an opening with which to use his Cutting Wind.

The minutes wore on and became an hour, and still they had not broken through the hundreds of tentacles to Naraku himself. Shippo and Kirara were protecting Kagome as she sent off arrow after arrow towards Naraku, but she only ever managed to destroy more tentacles as they rose to block her path.

Finally, realizing she could never strike Naraku himself, she set to work clearing a path through the waves. Her arrows disintegrated tentacles in a straight line towards Naraku. Once they realized what she was up to, both Kagura and Sesshomaru moved to help, using a combination of their powers – poisonous wind-blades – to strike down the miasma and help clear a path.

Meanwhile, Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku were using what knowledge they held from the times they had trained together in the night. They swept through the seemingly neverending forests of tentacles, destroying as they went, turning and striking out with their backs to each other, moving in unison and watching out for one another.

Takinoshi fought alongside Raori. Both had realized that it was nearly impossible to reach Naraku, what with the thickness of the tentacles, and moved throughout the battlefield, using their strength not in attack, but defense. Whenever one of their allies was in danger, they moved to protect them. At one point, when Inuyasha paused to take a moment of rest, Naraku attacked him, and his eyes widened slightly as the tentacles turned and shot at him swiftly, but before he could even raise Tetsusaiga, Raori had flashed across his vision and left them in tatters. She paused a moment and met his gaze with an encouraging smile before moving on to strike down an attack that was threatening Kagome.

Takinoshi paused at the edge of the battle, and Raori moved to stand beside him. "We'll never get anywhere if things keep going as they are," she said under her breath to him.

Takinoshi nodded, turning his eyes on Kagome. "The miko has the right idea," he noted, "in clearing a path to Naraku. We must do so, and give her a chance to get a shot in. Her purification abilities are quite possibly the only thing that can subdue him."

Raori nodded. "You're right. I will go speak to Kouga and Inuyasha to tell them to distract Naraku. Help cut down a path to Naraku."

Takinoshi nodded. "Tell the monk and the two taiji-ya. We need someone to protect the miko," he said, and blurred out of sight, moving to fight alongside Sesshomaru and Kagura in striking down the tentacles towards Naraku. Raori observed the fight for a moment before darting down toward Kouga and Inuyasha.

"We are attempting to clear a path to allow the miko a shot at Naraku," she said quietly to them as the paused to listen and catch their breath. "Attack Naraku and draw his attention with all your strength."

They nodded, moving around to Naraku's other side and working together, Koura clearing an area and giving Inuyasha room to use the Cutting Wind and make Naraku turn and face them.

Raori turned and approached Miroku, who slashed down a tentacle with his staff and turned to face her. "We must give the miko a clear shot," she said under her breath as Sango and Kohaku turned to listen. "Inuyasha and Kouga are working to distract Naraku. Two of you, go and help him, and one of you go and protect the miko."

They split up. Miroku moved to stand before Kagome, who gave him a grateful smile and notched her very last arrow onto her bow to wait for a shot.

Kouga, Inuyasha, Sango, and Kohaku successfully gained Naraku's attention, and he turned towards them. Raori moved and helped the other three demons cut down a path, moving silently and swiftly, attempting to fight without attracting Naraku's attention once more. They slowly managed to clear a sort of path, until they could just glimpse Naraku's pelt through the thinned web of tentacles.

Kagome took a deep breath, drawing the arrow on her bow and aiming, feeling her heart pounding painfully in her chest. This was it – this was her chance. This was the blow that would determine whether they could defeat the evil that had tainted their lives. This was their chance to finally defeat Naraku.

The hanyou tensed, seeming to realize his life was in danger, and turned slightly towards her. Growling, the angered Inuyasha made one last attempt to turn Naraku away from her again, using the Cutting Wind and giving it his all. Naraku turned back to him, striking him to the ground with yet another wave of tentacles, and then quickly turned back to Kagome to see her cock her arrow towards him and ready herself to let the shot loose.

"Not so fast," he hissed, and sent a massive attack straight at Inuyasha, who was on the ground and unable to defend himself.

Kagome gasped, immediately knowing there was nothing she could do – her shot might hit Naraku, but it wouldn't stop him from destroying Inuyasha. Quickly, she turned her shot away from Naraku and shot it towards Inuyasha, purifying the tentacles and saving his life.

Naraku snickered. "Foolish miko," he laughed at her. "You could have destroyed me, but no – you chose to save the worthless Inuyasha."

"I love him," she choked out, tears rising to her eyes.

"Love," Naraku snorted in disgust. "Your love will be the death of you all, miko."

Kagome gritted her teeth and glared at him, feeling a tear streak down her cheek. _My last arrow, _she thought sadly. _I could've killed Naraku… I could've destroyed him for good… but I wouldn't. I couldn't let Inuyasha die. No matter what he says, I couldn't do it. We'll find a way to do it, but… I love Inuyasha. We'll do it together. _

Naraku shook his head at her, sneering. "Even at the end, you have thrown away all your hopes and futures all for love. You are more foolish than I thought."

Kagome felt herself start to shake. "No," she said suddenly, glaring at Naraku.

The evil hanyou raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak.

"No," she repeated, her voice strengthening as she stood proud and tall, facing him down. "I am not a fool. I am fighting for the ones I love. They are worth more to me than anything. Even if it means letting you live a little longer, I won't abandon them. We'll fight you, and we'll destroy you, Naraku. But we'll do it together."

Naraku laughed, and the sound of his voice rang through the clearing. "Kukukuku… and how do you propose to do that, miko? Your last hope is gone. You have nothing."

"They have me."

They all turned around, eyes flashing towards the edge of the forest. Standing there, as proud and tall as Kagome had been a moment ago, was Kikyo. Her eyes shone with the light of determination and strength as she stepped from the woods and approached Kagome, never removing her glare from Naraku.

"Your evil has tainted this world long enough, Naraku," she said quietly, her voice cold.

"And what can you do about it?" he shot back, narrowing his eyes at her.

Kikyo reached into her sleeve and drew out a single arrow. Kagome's eyes widened as the dead priestess offered it to her. "Take it," Kikyo said quietly. "It contains the last of my power. With our combined force, you can subdue him. Use it well."

"Kikyo…" Kagome said softly, taking the arrow. "Thank you."

Kikyo smiled at her, and in her eyes was something Kagome had not seen before – kindness. "Destroy him," she ordered, "and rid the world of the wickedness that is Naraku." She hesitated for a moment before raising her hands. A strange glowing light emanated from the space between them.

Kagome drew back slightly. _It looks like she's holding… a soul,_ she realized.

Kikyo held her hands out to Kagome. "Take it. It is the part of your soul that has resided within me. It is time for me to return where I belong. Take what is rightfully yours."

Kagome closed her eyes and the light shifted to her body, sinking inside her with a slight flash.

Kikyo's image began to fade, and she glanced over at Inuyasha, who looked torn between the two – he loved Kagome, that he knew, but he had made a promise.

"No, Inuyasha," Kikyo said softly, and with those two words, he understood her. Kikyo had admitted to his love for Kagome, and was asking him to remain with the girl and stay where he would be happiest. She knew that this was what he wanted. Inuyasha gave her a kind look and she turned back to Kagome, her business in the world of the living finished.

"It is time," she said softly, and was gone.

Naraku, who had watched the entire exchange in a sort of shocked silence, immediately turned on Kagome and lifted up all his remaining tentacles, angling them towards her. Miroku's eyes widened – there wasn't a chance in the world he could save her from all that.

At once, Sesshomaru and Takinoshi were in front of her, protecting her from Naraku's malice.

Kagome sighed, and took a split second to reflect on what had happened, on all they had gone through – that she could depend on these demons, who looked down on humans with cold scorn, to protect her. That what had started out as a normal life for her, going off to high school as though she was the most normal girl in the world, had become a life in a feudal era fighting demons and retrieving shards of a jewel of power. What had happened? How had it all come to pass? How had she gained such wonderful friends?

_I'll do it for them, _she thought with a confident smile. _For all of them, I will defeat Naraku. Nothing can stop me. I won't let him ruin any more innocent lives!_

Naraku's eyes widened as the arrow loosed itself from her bow, but not even a solid concrete wall could have blunted the force of that shaft. It was fueled with the desperation, with the hope and love and purity, of Kagome's very soul. He drew back slightly, his eyes filled with a terrible light, and opened his mouth to scream.

The arrow struck true, and Kagome's eyes lit up with joy as a brilliant light flooded the clearing. Naraku fell, first to his knees, and then to the grass, sprawled on the ground as he struggled to remain alive against the power of purification in Kagome's arrow.

"No," they heard him gasp out, and Kagome watched him struggle to his knees once more. "_No._"

Her heart sank as he lurched upright, eyes dull and empty, but still alive. "No," he repeated, staring into her own wide, shocked eyes. "Do you… not yet… understand? You cannot… you cannot destroy me… I will always… return to haunt you. I am… not just a man… I am darkness itself… I will never be truly defeated."

They watched with a horror in their gazes as he managed to stand on both feet again. His body was destroyed and he was shaking horribly – the arrow had pierced his heart perfectly, and by rights he shouldn't have still been alive, but he didn't fall again, didn't go down, didn't disappear from the face of the earth as they had all imagined. He was still there, still somehow existent, and it seemed as though no matter how hard they fought, he was right – he would find some way to return.

In the intense silence that rang through the clearing at that moment, two sounds echoed.

One was the horrible _kukuku _of Naraku's slow laughter, painfully loud in their ears.

The other was a softer, gentler sound, barely heard but so much more significant.

Tenseiga was pulsing.


	13. A New Beginning

Hey, guys! How is everybody? You liking the story? I updated the summary and my profile. If you look at it and see a lot of round things, that's a screw-up and it's not supposed to be there – I just went back and fixed it a few minutes ago. A lot of the time lately, will mess up the stuff I update. I tried to put up the last chapter… 12, right? Yeah, 12… I tried to put it up and kept changing things and putting weird spaces and making typos. It took me hours and hours to make it work. But I like it anyway, personally, so it's okay.

I didn't know whether I should bring Kikyo into it, but I figured she had to have some part, and when I started to write the chapter I just decided that she should be good. Lots of people love Kikyo bashing, and I don't mind it so much myself, but in this story I wanted to have her do something nice for them. After all the really horrible stuff she did over the books, like kissing Inuyasha and making Kagome watch, or trying to drag him down to hell, don't you think she should do something nice? I mean, she's powerful, even if she is dead, and with her on their side it'd be a lot easier for them to win. She was like a twelfth ally. Hey, and she came in on the twelfth chapter! How do you like that. What a coincidence.

If you're actually bothering to stop and read the top of the page, will you answer something for me? It's been a long time since I read the manga, and I've forgotten exactly how Sango's family died. I know they went to a village to exterminate a giant demon and a tiny spider bit Kohaku, forcing him to kill his own family – but was it Naraku, or another lord, who was controlling the kid? I thought I remembered Naraku coming out and killing the one who was controlling Kohaku, but then wouldn't that mean Naraku saved Sango's life? I always thought he was the one who killed her family, which was why she hated him… anybody want to take a shot at explaining that to me? I mean, if Naraku's really as evil as to do what he did to Kikyo and Inuyasha, why would he then go and save Sango? It doesn't make sense. Please put an end to my confusion! (Yes, this means review!) The first person who can tell me what really happened gets the dedication in the very last chapter.

So, I'll stop my babbling and say the disclaimer. I don't own Inu or any of its characters. I wish I did, but I don't. Like I said before, it's probably a good thing that I don't, but then if I did I could sue you guys for using them! Only I wouldn't do that, 'cause then there wouldn't be any awesome fanfics for everybody to read…

Thanks to HahaI'mBetterThanYou for reviewing Chapter 12. You were the first one, congrats! I agree, even I didn't see that coming until it was suddenly on the paper and I was like, oh, well I guess that works…

And thanks to Shadow-Seeker-13 for reviewing Chapter 11. Thanks, and yes, I will be putting in some more Sess fluff. Chapter 12 has a little more, and I'm hoping that the last chapter of the fic will be mostly romance, so keep reading and it'll come, I promise!

Thanks to socialkween, sister dearest, for reviewing 8 and 9. Thanks, and keep reading… that goes for everybody!

* * *

**Last time…**

In the intense silence that rang through the clearing at that moment, two sounds echoed.

One was the horrible _kukuku_ of Naraku's slow laughter, painfully loud in their ears.

The other was a softer, gentler sound, barely heard but so much more significant.

Tenseiga was pulsing.

* * *

**Chapter 13: A New Beginning**

They all heard it, though at first they thought it to be their imaginations. Slowly, one by one, they turned to Sesshomaru, whose stoic expression had a look of slight surprise on it as he gazed down at the sword.

The insistent sound was getting steadily stronger, as though attempting to make itself heard. Naraku fell silent as he, too, noticed its gentle humming. His lifeless, dark eyes turned towards it, filled with confusion and contempt aplenty. After a moment in which Tenseiga grew louder, glowing slightly against Sesshomaru's hip, Naraku let his laugh ring out once more, stronger this time.

"Kukuku," he sneered, turning those nightmarish eyes on Sesshomaru himself. "Look at that. The sword that cannot even cut flesh thinks itself able to defeat me."

Sesshomaru looked up, almost as confused as the others, and met Raori's gaze. She gave him a curious look and he shrugged slightly, not knowing what the sword wanted him to do. It was powerless, as far as he was concerned – yes, it could restore life, but wasn't that the last thing they wanted now? They were attempting to take away Naraku's life, not return it to him.

Suddenly Kagome's eyes widened slightly. "Tenseiga," she said softly, seeming to understand.

They all turned to look at her, including Naraku, whose laughter had once again fallen silent.

"Of course," Kagome said with a slight laugh, her eyes tearing up again as she gazed down at the sword. Its light seemed to grow brighter under her gaze and she shook her head slowly. "This whole time, it was Tenseiga. It's always been Tenseiga."

"What are you talking about, Kagome?" Sango said hesitantly.

Kagome's gaze never moved from the sword, which still pulsed gently. "Naraku is right," Kagome said softly. "He's not just a man. He is darkness. That's why our weapons couldn't defeat him." She looked up at Naraku, who looked slightly angry, as though he understood what she was getting at and didn't like it.

"Our weapons are meant to destroy," Kagome said quietly, comprehension dawning on her like a bright light in a neverending twilight. "But Naraku _is _destruction. That's why we could never kill him. To destroy something that is the nature of destruction itself, you have to attack with its opposite… with something of the nature of healing." Her eyes turned back to the sword, which was glowing even brighter now. "Tenseiga."

Sesshomaru suddenly understood. The sword was more powerful than he had at first wanted to admit, he realized, but now that the miko had explained it, he saw that she was right. Tetsusaiga was made to destroy, but the wise ones of the world can tell you in a heartbeat that the power of death is in no way more valuable to hold than the power of life.

Sesshomaru, safe in his violent and uncaring way of life, had never understood this, and had always desired what he did not have. Tetsusaiga was his wish, that he would have such power over death at his command.

What he had failed to see was that his own sword was just as powerful, if not more so. Yet for years, decades, it sat unused at his hip, ignored by its master as it waited for its time and purpose to be fulfilled. Sesshomaru's heart lacked the compassion it took to wield the Tenseiga, and so he never knew its true power.

Now, as he gazed down at the sword, he realized there was more to it than he'd known, than he could've possibly guessed.

His father was wise – Inuyasha, whose spirit was wild and untamed, was given the Tetsusaiga, and with it the power of total destruction. Yet the sword was forged to protect humans, and in giving it to his son, Inutaisho was attempting to convey to Inuyasha that it was not wrong to have compassion for them, no matter how weak they may seem. Inuyasha was given a weapon of immense power, and in using it to protect others, he had to learn to harness that power and exercise restraint in using it. Tetsusaiga would teach Inuyasha the virtue of discipline.

Sesshomaru, with such a cold heart that refused to be thawed by anyone, was given the sword that was the opposite of his nature. Inutaisho, he realized, was attempting to teach his older son to soften his heart and use the sword for others. He was trying to help Sesshomaru open his heart to others, and to care for something other than himself.

With a slight shock, Sesshomaru realized that it had already happened. The moment he had turned back to the little girl lying in the path and drawn Tenseiga, the moment he had made up his mind to save her life, he had unknowingly done exactly as his father had wished. His heart had softened, melted, a little more every day since Rin came into his life. And now, as he considered himself after this entire adventure, he saw another sort of care within his own heart that had not been there before – love.

His eyes met those of Raori, which softened slightly. He knew then, without a doubt in his mind, that he loved her, and that he wouldn't give the feeling up for anything in the world.

Suddenly he knew what he had to do.

Time seemed to slow, and he looked over them all. Kagome had a new light of hope shining in her eyes, and was begging him with her eyes to use the sword and destroy Naraku once and for all. His eyes traveled to the two exterminators, whose gazes reflected their determination to get the battle overwith. The monk had the same hard look in his gaze, and gave Sesshomaru a small, encouraging smile. Raori, Kouga, Kagura and Takinoshi, all full youkai like himself, gave him looks of trust. After all they had seen of him, Sesshomaru realized, they trusted him, trusted what was inside him, and it meant more to him than they could know.

The taiyoukai's gaze turned to Inuyasha, who had a look in his eyes that took Sesshomaru a moment to place. At first he thought it was contempt, but when he looked closer, he saw with a slight shock that the look in his half-brother's eyes was that of pride.

Inuyasha was proud to be Sesshomaru's brother.

After getting past the overwhelming surprise he felt at that realization, Sesshomaru felt his mind go back, and he remembered the first battle he had been in with Inuyasha, back before they even met Raori, when he had saved Inuyasha's life and they had exchanged that look, the one that bound them as allies from that point forth. He remembered that, and wondered at how a journey across Feudal Japan to defeat the greatest evil it had ever seen had managed to bring the two together. Whether he had realized it or not, Inuyasha and he were not nearly as cold and hateful towards one another as they one had been, which was something he was grateful for. It made life so much easier, knowing that he didn't have to be on his guard whenever Inuyasha was around, and he knew it made things easier for the hanyou to know Sesshomaru wouldn't jump at him all of a sudden.

Sesshomaru's eyes softened slightly, realizing that Inuyasha had come around in the end. The hanyou had acknowledged that Sesshomaru would be the one to finally destroy Naraku, and for once, he wasn't being a total jerk about it.

_Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps Inuyasha is not as bad as I once believed. Perhaps, with Naraku gone, we could all live our lives anew, without all the pain and suffering that has so corrupted our existences. _

Sesshomaru once more turned his gaze to Naraku, knowing with a sudden confidence that he was no longer alone. There were those who believed in him, and they would stand behind him all the way. In one decisive motion that sealed the fate of the dark hanyou before him, Sesshomaru drew Tenseiga.

The sword hummed softly in his hand, and Naraku drew back slightly, eyes widening in fear.

Sesshomaru stepped forward, grasping Tenseiga in his hand. A warmth spread from the sword throughout his body, washing over his heart and inspiring him. His gaze traveled up the blade and to Naraku, hardening as he stared down his enemy.

Visions and stray thoughts passed through his mind, flashing before his eyes. He remembered all that Naraku had done to the world and to those who did not deserve what they got. Naraku had broken the hearts of Inuyasha and Kikyo, caused the death of the innocent priestess, and in turning them against one another, sealed Inuyasha to a tree for fifty years. Naraku had taken everything from Sango – her family, her entire village – even Kohaku, who she had been forced to fight. He had made her kill her own brother to get a shard of the cursed jewel. Naraku had caused just as much suffering in Miroku's family – his father and grandfather alike were sucked into their own hands by Naraku's curse, and Miroku was forced to live every day not knowing whether it would be his last or not, simply because Naraku enjoyed causing pain to others. Kouga's kin, hundreds of his friends and family, had been brutally slaughtered on Naraku's orders, and the wolf had lived with that pain and sorrow ever since.

Sesshomaru remembered all this, and his thoughts pounded inside his head along with the pulsing of Tenseiga, which had seemed to strengthen with his determination.

Naraku narrowed his eyes and stumbled back, already slightly subdued by the powerful aura the sword let off. Sesshomaru matched his retreat with an advance, and came forward, raising the sword and preparing to strike down the evil that cowered before him.

_For a new beginning, _he thought firmly, and struck.

One slash was all it took. Naraku screamed as the brightly glowing sword seared across his already torn body and emitted a light that blinded all of them for a moment. When the light cleared, they opened their eyes, and they saw that Naraku was, at last, defeated.

The light of the day shone in through the clearing, no longer blocked by the foul darkness that was Naraku, but even it could not outshine the light within their own hearts.

Finally, after so many years of pain and despair, hope and love had triumphed.

It was over.

* * *

Sorry, I kind of made this chapter kind of short, but I did that on purpose. I mean, I was going to make it longer at first, but that seemed like a good stopping point, even if it is really short compared to the last chapter. Don't worry, I'm already starting the next one, and I won't keep you waiting long! 

But hey, since you are waiting, why don't you review? Just a thought…

See you next time!


	14. Happily Ever After

Okay, I'm back! Or, well, I guess I never really left, since I just wandered after posting the last chapter and now I'm back at my story again, and I felt like continuing… after all, the story's pretty much finished, and I wouldn't want to keep you waiting.

By the way, thanks to MoonKitii for reviewing… heh, I like my story, too! Lol.

Shadow-Seeker-13, thanks for reviewing! You're right, Sesshie is awesome. I couldn't resist! Heh...

HahaI'mBetterThanYou, thanks for reviewing again! I love Sesshie, and I'll take any excuse I can get to put him on the spotlight. It compliments his eyes. lol… And sorry about the Chapter 12 thing! I did do a lot of changing with Chapter 12, as it kept messing up every time I posted it. It was very frustrating – every time I fixed the problem, a new one showed up, and it was always just important enough that I had to fix it… the first one that I found was when they all came out and fought Naraku, and I'd forgotten Kohaku completely! I felt bad for the poor kid… so I put him in, and then it got confused when I tried to replace the chapter, and added in all these typos and stuff like that… sorry if it caused anyone confusion, but I'm done now, I promise! No more updating 12. Let me warn you, though, I may have to go back and redo a few of the old chapters – not what's in them, but some typos people have pointed out that could get confusing. I'll wait until after the story's over, though.

Okay, back to the story.

So where was I… they beat Naraku, right? Yeah, Sesshie did. Yay Sesshie!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for… _le romance_.

Yep, up next is the romance chapter, probably the next-to-last, since I've got a basic idea of how I want the fic to end, and it's got its own chapter. So, welcome to the next-to-last chapter of Living for Love, and enjoy!

* * *

Joy and delight was the mood that evening, and they built a giant fire, roasting meat that Kouga and Inuyasha had found. All of them were still weary from the fight, but had unanimously agreed that some sort of celebration was necessary.

"To the end of Naraku," Kagome said when she'd given out cups of spring water to them all.

"To the end of Naraku," they repeated happily, and drank the cups dry.

Kohaku and Sango were laughing with one another and playing with Kirara as though they hadn't a care in the world. Inuyasha and Kagome sat side by side, talking animatedly with Kagura, Kouga, and Raori. Shippo was bouncing from group to group, a grin on his face.

Miroku was dancing around the fire, having torn the coverings off his cursed hand and thrown them onto the fire. He was waving the spotless palm about in the air, laughing and twirling until he grew dizzy and tripped, falling to the ground next to Sango and Kohaku. The group laughed good-naturedly at the monk's expense as he lay back, a frown on his face but another smile in his eyes as he glared playfully at them.

Sesshomaru and Takinoshi were the quietest ones there, but even they had slight smiles on their faces. They watched the others, enjoying the festive mood and sitting in companionable silence. As their personalities would suggest, they were none to join in the laughing and cheering, but their hearts had lifted with hope anew all the same, and they had as much cause to celebrate as any.

Takinoshi had his two jewel shards in his hands and was turning them over, looking down at them thoughtfully as they shone a soft pink in the firelight.

_So much pain and suffering and sorrow, _he thought, _over such a thing. It should have been destroyed long ago. No demon – no, not even a human – should wield such a powerful evil. Never again must it fall into the hands of those who would abuse it. _

The taiyoukai glanced up as Kouga approached Kagome. One surprise they'd gotten was when Kouga stood calmly in front of Kagome and told her that he was denouncing her as his woman, and since then he'd gone up a step in Inuyasha's eyes. It had been a moment of amusement, and although Kagome's heartfelt thanks made the wolf go slightly red, he didn't take it back.

Now, as the wolf knelt beside Kagome, Takinoshi could see that he held his two shards in his hand.

"I figured you'd want these," he said gruffly, offering them to her.

"Thanks, Kouga!" Kagome said with a bright smile, taking them from him and adding them to the rest of the jewel, which was nearly completed. With the shards Naraku had left behind, they had only two missing – the ones, Takinoshi realized, that were sitting in his hand at that very moment.

His thoughts raced, and the darker side of him whispered foul things into his ear, reminding him that the power that lay in those shards would make him the greatest taiyoukai ever to rule. For a moment, he considered this, and his eyes grew cloudy as his imagination eagerly provided him with images of the grandeur and riches such power would reap. Just as quickly, his eyes traveled down to the jewel shards once more, and in them he saw suddenly the same power in a different light.

The jewel would corrupt him, feed him with hatred and malice, poisoning his heart as it had Naraku's. For all it was revered as the Sacred Jewel, there was really nothing in it to worship. It was a thing of evil.

_No, _he realized suddenly, _not a thing of evil. The Shikon Jewel was put here for the very purpose it has just fulfilled: to prove that power is not all that matters, and that too much can be dangerously intoxicating, and will inevitably destroy the one who seeks it. I am only grateful that I saw this and realized its true meaning before it took me into its foul grasp, as well. _

"It is a gift," he said suddenly, his voice soft and hushed.

They all turned to look at him and saw him inspecting the shards. Instantly, their hearts sank, for they mistook his words to be those of want, and the look in his eyes to be that of lust.

Kagome swallowed, wondering if it really was over, after all. They'd assumed, after Takinoshi agreed to help them, that he would remain their ally, but what if they'd been wrong? Could they really trust him? Would he give up his shards, and do the right thing… or would he, too, fall into the jewel's grasp?

Takinoshi looked up from the precious shards and saw Kagome's look of horror.

Understanding that his words could have meant something else, he rose, moving silently towards her, shards in hand. Inuyasha rose slightly from his seat, hand on Tetsusaiga, but Takinoshi gave him a reassuring glance and he slowly sank back down onto his seat. The taiyoukai knelt before Kagome and opened his hand once more, revealing the two glittering shards.

Kagome glanced down into his hand and back up at him, confused.

"I believe that now, at the end, I understand," he said with a gentle smile. "The jewel was not brought into the world as a source of power for those who would use it. It is a gift for those who would seek to understand it. I have, and I want no part of it."

Kagome's relief was obvious, and she gave him a thankful grin.

Takinoshi's eyes softened as he fingered the shards, still kneeling before her. "It would be so easy to simply take these shards and use them for my own purposes. Even now, their influence whispers dark thoughts into my mind, and I am compelled to do so, but I would not dare. Naraku thought in that fashion, and look what happened to him. He descended fully into a darkness of which the only escape was death. That is a path I cannot, and will not, follow. It is strange to me, that such a pure, perfect thing could instill so much corruptness in a person, but it is as clear to me now as anything."

The demon held out his clawed hand towards her, fixing his eyes on hers and offering her the shards.

"Take them," he said, and the words seemed to her less of an order and more of a request. "Take them, that I need not concern myself with them any longer."

Kagome did so, putting them in the pocket of her uniform.

Takinoshi cocked his head. "Why do you not fuse them with the rest of the jewel?"

"I want to wait until we get back to Kaede's village," she replied. "It's where this whole thing started, and the head miko, Kaede, is a great friend of ours. She'll want to be there when the jewel is completed. Besides…"

Inuyasha glanced at her sadly, already knowing what she was going to say.

"What?" Kagura prompted, confused.

"I have no idea what'll happen to the well," Kagome mumbled sadly. "It might close, and I have to figure out where I'm gonna stay if it does."

"What do you mean?" Takinoshi asked, still confused. "Of what well do you speak?"

Kagome's eyes widened. "Oh, I forgot you didn't know about it," she said, glancing around at them. "Neither does Kagura, or Raori, or Sesshomaru, or Kohaku… and what about you, Kouga?"

"I have no idea what you're babbling on about," he shrugged.

Kagome swallowed, wondering how they would take the news. "Well," she said hesitantly, "I guess the first thing you need to know is that I'm not from around here. I'm… I'm kinda… I'm from the future," she blurted out.

Kouga blinked in confusion, and Takinoshi exchanged a startled glance with Kagura. Kohaku looked up at his sister in surprise, and she nodded, confirming Kagome's story. Raori raised her eyebrows in surprise, glancing at Sesshomaru, who also had the slightest look of astonishment on his face.

Kagome barreled through her story, on a roll now that she'd gotten the hardest part out. "I live five hundred years in the future with my family at a shrine. One day our cat went down by the old well, and when I went in after it, I got pulled in by a centipede demon. We were sucked back through time, and I ended up in another well in the Forest of Inuyasha here, in the Sengoku Jidai. It turns out I'm the reincarnation of Kikyo, and the jewel that was burned with her body was under my skin in my side when I got here. I met Inuyasha, and when the jewel broke, we set out to find the pieces together."

"So… you can travel back and forth through time in a well?" Raori asked finally.

Kagome nodded. "Yeah."

The six exchanged looks again. "Well," Kohaku said finally, "that's rather… strange."

With a sigh, Kagome agreed. "Yeah, guess so. Only problem is, Kaede thinks I was only allowed to travel back and forth because the jewel needed its protector to gather the pieces. We're not sure if the well will still work after all the shards are put back together. If we do fuse them all into one, I want to at least have had time to decide what I want to do – I mean, I love it here and all, but I have family on the other side of the well."

Inuyasha's ears drooped sadly at this, and Kagome gave him a slightly teary smile. "Come on," she said, and pulled him to his feet. "Cheer up. Let's go for a walk."

With a sigh, the hanyou agreed, and the two strode from the clearing hand in hand.

The others fell silent, still slightly surprised at the news that the miko wasn't even from the same time period as them. _Well, I suppose it does make sense, _Raori thought as she watched the two vanish into the forest. _She does have an otherworldly look about her, and it has always been obvious that she is different._

Kagura considered the idea for only a moment before accepting and forgetting it. _Doesn't really matter where she's from, _the wind mistress reasoned. _I mean, I come from Naraku himself, but that's no way to judge me. If the girl's from the future, she's from the future. _

Her red eyes turned to Miroku, who was sitting beside her. The monk kept stealing glances at Sango, who was still talking softly to Kohaku. Every time she looked down at her brother, he snuck a look at her, and the wind demon saw that he was admiring her.

Kagura almost laughed aloud. Miroku's obsession with Sango was so obvious she was amazed Sango hadn't noticed it yet.

Shaking her head slightly, she got to her feet, giving Kouga a pointed look and nodding to the woods. "Let's go for a walk," she said, and he looked at her in confusion, but understood when she jerked her head towards Miroku. The wolf nodded and got to his feet.

"Sure. Takinoshi, want to come with?"

Takinoshi glanced at Miroku for a moment, and they saw a light of amusement in his eyes. The powerful, dark demon got to his feet, moving towards Kagura and shaking his head at her. "I will accompany you," he said, and then, in a softer voice, "Very discreet."

Kagura smirked and glanced them over. "Anyone else want to stretch their legs?"

Kohaku hesitated, meeting her gaze. He glanced pointedly at Miroku and Sango and turned back to her. She snorted quietly. Even the kid had noticed, she observed. That was really sad.

"Come on, kid," she nodded.

Kohaku rose, leaving behind his sister and following as they left the camp and went for a walk.

Sesshomaru, Raori, Shippo, and Kirara were left to themselves. Sesshomaru didn't move, but sat in silence, not sparing the departing group a glance.

Raori moved to sit beside him and spoke in a voice so soft that the humans couldn't hear it and his demonic hearing had to strain to make it out. "Come," she said softly, her eyes asking him to follow her. "Let us also go for a walk through the woods."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. "Why is everyone so bent on walking?" he said quietly.

Raori glanced at the monk and taiji-ya, who were blushingly avoiding each others' gazes. "Look at them," she murmured with a soft laugh. "They are in love, and they know it. The least you can do is give them the privacy to act upon that love. With the rest of us gone, they will be free to tell one another of their affections."

Sesshomaru sighed, but rose, turning away towards the forest in a direction none of the others had taken. Raori gave him a thankful look and followed, glancing back at the others. Miroku and Sango were now alone, as Kirara and Shippo had already fallen asleep against one another, completely drained from the fight with Naraku and the merry celebration that had followed.

Turning their backs on the clearing, the two taiyoukai walked away, leaving Sango and Miroku to themselves.

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Inuyasha sighed when they were out of earshot of the clearing and turned to Kagome. She was already facing him, and he was horrified to find that she was crying.

Gently, he reached out a hand and wiped the tears away, gathering her in his arms and holding her close to him. Kagome put her arms around him, sobbing silently into his haori. Inuyasha stood in silence, grimly comforting her and himself at the same time. Naraku was gone – they should have been so much happier. It was as though fate had it in for them, and wouldn't spare them a minute's rest from problems.

His heart ached for Kagome, who would have to decide whether to leave behind all the friends she had made and the one she loved above any other, or to abandon the life she had lived for so long and leave her family alone. The poor girl, he realized, had two families – the ones who had grown to love her so much and appreciated her in every way, and the ones who had raised her and been there for her since she was born.

How could anyone make the choice between two families? Here she had love in Inuyasha, and Shippo was as her son, and Sango and Miroku were as her sister and brother – but she had a blood family to worry about, and that was as much an obligation to her as her feudal-age family was.

Kagome finally broke away, her tears replaced by a smile. "You know what?" she said optimistically. "I'm just not going to worry about it. I can wait until we get back to Kaede to do that. For now, I'm going to be happy, and grateful for what I've got. Naraku's gone, and I'm just going to enjoy that."

Inuyasha smiled at her, yet again surprised by the seemingly endless enthusiasm that raged inside her.

Kagome drew back slightly, studying him and noticing that the smile didn't reach his eyes – instead, there was a tired, sad look in them, and she knew immediately what it was.

"Kikyo?" she asked gently.

Inuyasha lowered his eyes. "I'm glad that she's finally moved on, but… I owe her so much, Kagome, and I just wish there was something I could do for her."

Kagome sighed, gently kissing his cheek. "I understand. But Naraku is gone, isn't he? Kikyo can rest in peace now, and maybe someday you two will see each other again." She gave Inuyasha a gentle smile full of hope and love, and he realized that she was right, that now was not a time to dwell in the past or the future, but to enjoy the present while it lasted.

"You're right," he agreed, holding her tighter to him. "Kikyo would've wanted me to be happy."

Kagome sighed. True, Kikyo had proven herself and helped them in the end, but she couldn't help but feel that old, familiar sorrow whenever Inuyasha mentioned her. She lowered her gaze, not wanting to ask the question on her mind, but knowing at the same time that it would bother her forever if she didn't.

"Inuyasha," she said slowly, "when I'm with you, do you… do you see me as Kikyo, or Kagome?"

Inuyasha's attention snapped to her and his eyes widened slightly. He hooked a gentle finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him. "Kagome," he scolded softly, "I know that, back in the beginning, I saw you as the reincarnation of Kikyo. I know that, and I'm sorry. I never saw you as yourself, only as a remnant of someone I'd loved long ago. I never appreciated you in your own, unique way, and I made it painfully obvious." He sighed and tilted his forehead against hers. "That was wrong, and I hate myself for doing it."

Kagome listened in surprise to his heartfelt speech. Inuyasha met her gaze, his own begging her to believe him. "I've learned, Kagome, and there were way too many 'sits' along the way. Kagome is Kagome. Kikyo is Kikyo. And I want to be with Kagome."

The girl's eyes clouded with tears. Inuyasha's ears flattened slightly and he swallowed. "Please," he said to her gently, "don't cry." He gave her a soft kiss in an effort to calm her down.

Kagome burst into tears, clutching him for all she was worth. It wasn't her fault – no one had ever said anything that beautiful to her before, and she was so amazed at the one who'd said it that she couldn't help but sob at how wonderful it was. She loved Inuyasha far more than she'd ever thought she could, and hearing such heartfelt words from the hanyou himself was such a relief to her that, for a moment, she could hardly breathe.

As the confused hanyou stroked her hair, trying to get her to stop crying and wondering what he'd said to hurt her this time (not realizing they were happy tears), Kagome tilted her head up and whispered in his ear.

"I love you…"

Inuyasha's arms tightened around her slightly. "I love you, too, Kagome," he murmured, and out of those five words, the one that meant the most to her was her name, which was spoken from his lips with such overwhelming love that she knew without a doubt she could trust him.

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Sesshomaru and Raori walked in a comfortable silence for a while, neither speaking, neither finding a reason to speak. The night bathed the forest in a dark serenity, and they walked side by side under the moonlight, enjoying the wonderful calm that had come over the world.

At last, Raori spoke, her voice soft upon the air. "So what will you do, now that it is over?"

Sesshomaru hesitated a moment. "I will go back to my lands," he replied quietly, not meeting her gaze. "I will continue to rule as I always have."

Raori looked up at him. "For some reason, you don't sound particularly happy about that."

Sesshomaru sighed. "I have put it off for far too long now. When I was seeking Naraku, I had an excuse, but now I have none. As Lord of the Western Lands, I am expected to claim a mate."

Raori raised her eyebrows. "Perhaps I am mistaken, but you don't sound happy about that, either."

Sesshomaru clenched his fists tightly. "It is what my people expect of me," he said, "and I accept that my position requires me to produce an heir. However…" he paused, and met her curious gaze. "To claim a mate is the last thing I wish to have to do when I return home."

She didn't speak, but waited for him to finish, wondering at his reasoning.

Sesshomaru didn't lower his eyes again, however much he found himself wanting to. His golden eyes gazed into her silver ones as he mustered up what strength in spirit he had and spoke. "I do not wish to be forced to claim a mate, when I already hold love for another."

Raori's eyes widened. Of all the things he could have said, that was the one she had least expected.

"Oh?" she managed finally. "When did this happen?"

Sesshomaru paused, searching her eyes, and answered truthfully. "I do not know."

"Well, have you spoken of it with her yet?" Raori questioned.

The demon lord stopped walking and stood in silence. Raori paused, turning to face him and realizing that he was unsure of himself. He didn't answer her, but stared into space, obviously deep in thought. As she considered him, the demoness suddenly realized – with a shock, I might add – why Sesshomaru seemed so nervous.

_Me,_ she thought, eyes widening slightly. _He is in love with me._

Raori had certainly not been prepared for such a revelation, but as she thought about the situation, she realized that she welcomed it. When it had happened, she knew not, but as she gazed at Sesshomaru and looked past the cold front he kept up, she realized that she loved him back. Slowly, she tested the idea, running it through her mind. When she had first met him, he had been as icy as anything, with an expression that said 'back off.' What had changed? When had she begun to see him as a friend? As more than a friend?

Slowly, Sesshomaru raised his eyes to hers, almost afraid of what he might find.

Raori was smiling, her eyes softened slightly as she gazed trustingly at him. He hesitated, not knowing what the expression meant. Was she merely happy that he had found love? Was she amused? What did she think of him?

Sesshomaru gazed at her uncertainly, waiting for her to speak.

"You know," Raori said softly, "you really ought to tell her before you resign yourself to claiming another as your mate. One never knows; perhaps she would accept to become your mate if you asked her."

Not realizing she had figured it out, Sesshomaru swallowed and lowered his eyes, realizing that she was right. He would have to tell her, even if the possibility of her accepting him was remote. It was something he would never have dreamed he would have to do – admit his love for another – but he'd gotten himself into the situation by falling in love with her in the first place, and now he owed it to her to at least tell her. He would never forgive himself if he didn't.

"Raori," he started, feeling nervousness take ahold of him, "you are right. I…"

The demoness smirked slightly to herself. She knew it was hard for him, as he had never had to deal with the emotions he had within him, but she wasn't going to attempt to make it any easier. This was something he would have to do himself, and she wouldn't help him. _Besides, _she laughed inwardly, _it's not every day you see the great Lord Sesshomaru so unsure. I will have to remember this moment and store it away to tease him with in the future. _Her own thoughts rang in her head and her smile widened. _Future… yes, I do want my future to include him. I do not know how it came to pass that the two of us fell for one another, but something tells me it will turn out all right in the end._

So absorbed in her own thoughts was she that she almost missed what he said. Sesshomaru's voice was soft, quiet, almost shy. "I love you," he said under his breath.

_What has happened to me? _he thought in surprise. _Once, those would be the three least likely words to ever escape me, and now I say them with such… love._

His attention snapped back to Raori, who was smiling at him, her eyes telling him how proud she was that he had found it in him to tell her. At once, he realized what he had not before, and narrowed his eyes at her. "You knew," he stated shortly.

Raori's smile widened slightly. "You are harder than the monk to read, I give you that, but I can still see it in your eyes."

Sesshomaru glared at her. "And you let me suffer having to speak my heart to you anyway?"

Raori laughed lightheartedly, shaking her head at him. "I wouldn't have wanted to ruin the moment," she said softly, and leaned up to kiss her taiyoukai.

Sesshomaru was surprised, having been unprepared for the sudden contact, but did not pull away. Rather, he slid his arms around her waist, closing his eyes and accepting the feeling that he had attempted to deny for so long. As her arms wound around his neck and she deepened the kiss, he realized that his life could not have been more perfect. Naraku was gone, Inuyasha was no longer his enemy, and Raori was contently nestled in his arms. Could his life possibly be any better?

"I love you, too, Sesshomaru," Raori murmured softly in his ear a moment later.

Well, maybe it could.

Sesshomaru nuzzled her neck and sighed happily… _happily. _It was probably the first time the adverb had been used to describe him, and he found that 'happy' wasn't so bad after all.

Quietly, he spoke against her skin. "We still have not resolved the issue of my needing a mate."

Raori smiled and claimed his lips again. "You don't even have to ask," she murmured back, already knowing her answer and content with it.

Sesshomaru smiled down at her, and she gazed up at him, drinking in his achingly beautiful features that were even more wondrous when he smiled. "The western and far southern lands shall be joined," he said proudly, "and prosperity shall rule over the darkness that Naraku has cast over them."

Raori tilted her forehead against his, her eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. "At long last," she said, her voice strong and firm, "there shall be peace."

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Miroku hesitantly glanced up at Sango. He knew he'd have to tell her of his feelings sometime, and now was as good a time as any, especially since the demons had so courteously left them alone with one another.

When he glanced back down at his feet, Sango looked up at him out of the corner of her eye. He was quiet, and he was keeping his hands to himself, a rare occasion for such a dedicated lech. As she hesitated, he looked up at her, and she saw a strange look in his eyes.

Before he could speak, Sango lowered her eyes again and attempted to break the uncomfortable silence. "So, the curse is gone," she commented, nodding to his hand.

Miroku nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his palm. "Yes."

Sango smiled. "I'll bet you're glad."

The monk returned her smile. "I am. There is much to live for that I would have regretted leaving behind." _You, _he thought with a desperate pang of love, but didn't dare voice his thoughts. Cursing his cowardice, he fell silent, waiting for her to speak.

"Well," Sango said after a moment, "now that I have Kohaku back, I thought we would go to our village and pay our respects to our friends and family, but… after that, I don't know what we'll do."

Miroku nodded. "I understand. My entire life, I have sought Naraku, and now that he is gone, I realize I have no idea what to do next. I have my life ahead of me, but I've been so caught up in our journey that I hadn't thought how I meant to spend it."

Sango looked at him in surprise. "I know exactly what you mean," she nodded. "I mean, life with my family and village was wonderful, and I'd give anything to have that back, but… they're gone, and I have to accept that." She took a deep breath and Miroku gave her a sad look. "Now I don't know what we'll do. Naraku is gone, but there's no way I can just go back to the life I had before he appeared."

Miroku hesitated. "I do not know what I will do, either. I certainly know would I would _like _to do, but it hardly seems possible that it would work out as I imagine."

Sango glanced up at him curiously. "And what do you imagine?"

The monk looked at her a moment before lowering his eyes. "Well, during this whole… adventure," he said awkwardly, "I've… fallen in love."

Sango's eyes widened and her thoughts raced. _Who? _she thought frantically. _Koharu? This isn't about her, is it? He did seem to like her quite a bit, back when she found him and told him she was ready to bear his children… he's not… he's not going back to her, is he?_

Miroku sighed, propping his head up on his hands. "I know what I want to happen. I want to live the rest of my life with her, and never have to worry about anything again. But any fool would know that is too good to be true." He smiled wryly. "It is more likely I will grow up alone and childless as an old hermit."

Sango laughed aloud at the thought. Miroku, childless? He was bound to end up with hordes of kids if his lecherous attitude didn't change.

Miroku looked slightly surprised at her laugh, and she smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Miroku," she apologized. "Please, go on. What's this girl like?"

Deep down in her heart, Sango knew that she loved Miroku, but had already accepted the fact that he would never love her back. Who was she to claim his heart? She wasn't feminine at all, but covered in scars. The monk would never fall for her, she assured herself, pushing the thought from her mind and listening politely as Miroku spoke, his voice slightly unsteady.

"Well," he started, "she is hard to describe. She is beautiful, but sad… her smile is the most glorious thing I've ever laid eyes on, and I would do anything see it light up her face." He paused, looking into Sango's eyes.

Sango was dumbstruck, never having expected such from him. She would have thought the lech inside of him would show, but he spoke with words that rang with innocence. Whoever he loved, it wasn't for her body, but for who he saw inside of her. This made her cheer up slightly. Whoever she was, she was lucky.

"What's her name?" Sango asked innocently.

"Uh," Miroku swallowed nervously, catching her eyes in a pleading stare. She cocked her head, waiting for him to finish. "She's…"

"Come on," Sango laughed. "It's not that hard."

Suddenly Miroku could stand it no longer. He was sitting just across from her, and all he would have to do would be lean forward just a tiny bit…

His lips brushed lightly against hers, barely connecting, but the spark that flashed inside both of them was strong. Sango felt her heart speed up and a wide blush shot across her face as she stared at him in shock. What was he trying to tell her? That the woman he'd been talking about – the one he had complimented so gracefully – was _her? _As much as she wished that were true, she could hardly believe it.

But then she thought back, and considered all the times he had truly been there for her. Miroku wasn't really the kind of person he seemed like at first. The part of him she loved was sensitive and kind-hearted. If she looked past the lecher and into Miroku's heart, she would find time and time again that there was so much more to him.

Miroku was watching her for a sign of a slap or a yell. Instead, his eyes widened when she cupped his cheek in her hand, leaning into him and kissing him back.

He responded instantly, moving to sit beside her and putting an arm around her to hold her close. Sango's arm snaked around his neck as she closed her eyes, feeling herself truly relax in his arms. Miroku smiled against her, stroking her hair gently, and tilted his head so their noses were touching.

At last, they broke apart, their breathing ragged as they basked in the moment, smiling slightly. Sango gazed up into Miroku's eyes, which had softened and shone with love. The monk tenderly kissed her forehead, drawing her closer to him. Sango sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder and burying her face in his neck, listening to his heartbeat as it gently pounded in his chest.

The silence was quite enjoyable, and they rested against one another contentedly until Miroku finally broke the silence. "Sango," he said softly, finding that his confidence had returned, "I love you."

Sango pulled back slightly and gazed up at him, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. "Oh, Miroku," she choked out, "I love you, too… so much…"

Miroku kissed her again, resting his forehead against hers.

It was all she ever could have wanted, and much more. After so long, hiding her feelings and convincing herself that he could never return them, she had found the love she'd longed for. And to make things even more perfect, they had forever to enjoy that newfound love.

Life was good.

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When Kohaku, Kagura, Kouga, and Takinoshi returned, it was to find that they were the last ones. They had walked for a while through the woods, keeping their thoughts to themselves and moving in companionable silence through the shadows. Now, as they approached the clearing once more, it was to find that the various couples had returned and were seated around the crackling fire, already asleep.

Kohaku smirked and went to lie beside Sango and Miroku. The monk had his arm around Kohaku's sister, and she was leaning on him with a content smile on her face as she slept. The boy lay down with a yawn and drifted off, still amused that it had taken them so long.

Kouga sighed, shooting Inuyasha a glare. The hanyou was asleep in a tree with Kagome in his arms. When the wolf growled softly at them, the dog's ears twitched, but Inuyasha didn't wake, and his arms tightened slightly around the girl. Kouga flopped down, ignoring them, and was asleep within minutes.

Kagura and Takinoshi glanced at one another, smiling at the last spectacle.

Sesshomaru and Raori were seated at the outer edge of the clearing, fast asleep. The lord's arms were fastened around her waist. The lady's back rested against him, and her head was tucked under his chin. They made an adorable sight, and Kagura nodded in satisfaction that they, too, had finally managed to take ahold of the happiness that had awaited them.

Silently, so as not to wake the groups, Kagura and Takinoshi settled down. The wind-mistress slept, weary from such a long time without sleep and such a hard fight with Naraku.

Takinoshi remained awake, his dark eyes glancing over them all. Throughout the night, he sat without moving, intent on protecting those who had done so much for him when he had wronged them so. The morning came, and he watched it calmly, his heart overflowing with an indescribable joy to be alive and witness the dawning of a new day, a day free of evil.

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They departed the next morning, heading for Kaede's village. There was no hurry, and they took their time, all of them much more light-hearted than before. Inuyasha led them, Kagome at his side, and the others followed in their stead. Miroku and Sango seemed inseparable, and he didn't let his hand stray where it shouldn't, not once. When Sango noticed Kohaku glancing at them and turned her eyes on him, he gave her an encouraging smile and a wink. She grinned back, happy that he was all right with her choice. Sesshomaru rarely left Raori's side, and although neither spoke, they were content in merely being with one another.

Kagura and Takinoshi brought up the rear with Kouga. The three demons spoke amongst themselves, having nothing better to do. The journey was long, and took them a full week, but none of them minded.

As they neared the village, Kaede came to meet them, expecting to find the usual group. She froze when she saw Sesshomaru, her hand unconsciously creeping towards her bow.

The taiyoukai bowed his head to her slightly. "I do not come seeking a fight," he reassured her.

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, he's here with us. He helped us beat Naraku."

Kaede's eyes widened. "Do ye mean…"

Kagome laughed delightedly and ran to hug the old woman. "Yep! Naraku's gone! We finally defeated him! Isn't it so wonderful? He's finally gone!"

Kaede looked shocked. "I did not expect ye to return with such good news."

Kagome couldn't wipe the grin from her face. "We had some help from some very generous people. Kaede, these are our friends – I don't think you've met any of them. Kouga, Kagura, Kohaku, Raori, and Takinoshi. They all helped us, and we owe them everything. We couldn't have done it without them."

Kaede bowed to them and they returned the gesture. The old priestess turned to Kagome. "The jewel—" she started.

Kagome fished out the last two pieces and held them up. "Is complete," she finished for Kaede. "I waited to put it together entirely, 'cause I'm not sure what'll happen to the well."

Kaede nodded grimly. "Aye, that is a problem ye must now face. It is uncertain whether the well will allow ye to continue to pass between the two times. If I were ye, I would go and explain the situation to your family, Kagome. Perhaps they can help ye decide."

Kagome nodded. "Thanks, Kaede."

The old woman moved aside with a smile. "Go, child."

Kagome glanced back at the others. "You guys want to stay here?"

"I would like to see this mysterious well of yours," Raori said curiously.

Sesshomaru nodded. Kagome agreed and led the way down towards the clearing. In the end, they all followed her. Kaede watched them go, smiling. The news they had brought back was a shock to her, but a welcome one.

"Now, dear sister," she said softly into the air, "you may rest in peace."

The group emerged into the clearing and made their way to the well. Kagome shifted her pack on her back and glanced at them. "I'll be gone a while," she informed them. "Inuyasha, will you do me a favor and tell Kaede what's going on? She'd like to hear our story, and I don't want you to wait until I get back. I'll come back sometime tomorrow, as soon as I can."

The hanyou nodded, and she hopped up onto the lip of the well. The group watched as she leaped in, falling down into the depths. A bright flash of light lit the inside of the well, and when it faded, she was gone.

"Extraordinary," Takinoshi murmured. Raori nodded her agreement, examining the well.

"Come on," Inuyasha said, turning back towards the village. "Let's go."

They followed him back and were greeted by Kaede once more. Inuyasha took a while to tell her the story of their adventure, and she listened silently, absorbing the information. When he had finished, she took them to their rooms and bade them a good night's rest.

The old priestess remained awake an hour or two later, considering what Inuyasha had told her.

"Naraku," she said finally, narrowing her eyes. "At last, he is gone." She glanced out her window at the forest where she had first found Kagome and sighed. The girl had done so much for them – it was her pure heart and fierce determination that had brought them all together, and yet for all she had done, she asked nothing in return.

"Who would have thought?" Kaede mused. "A girl from the future has become the savior of the past."

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When Kagome returned the next day, sometime in the early afternoon, it was to find them all sitting around the well eating lunch and waiting for her.

"Oomph!" she grunted, leaning over the side of the well and meeting their surprised gazes with a smile. "Hey, guys."

Inuyasha smiled in response and got up, helping her out of the well. Kagome brushed off the dirt from the well and plunked herself down beside Sango. Her friend offered her some fruit and she took it with a smile. Inuyasha sat beside her and Shippo settled in her lap as she relaxed.

"You seem awfully cheerful," Kouga commented.

Kagome nodded, biting into the apple. "I talked to my family all last night, and at first they were all really sad, but they all agreed unanimously on what I would have to do." She swallowed the bite and glanced at Inuyasha, who looked nervous, as though afraid of what she would say. "I'm staying here."

The hanyou relaxed visibly and let out a relieved sigh.

"Your family supported that?" Miroku asked, raising his eyebrows. "They must care greatly for you."

Kagome nodded, sitting back against the side of the well and taking another bite from the apple as she gazed into space, obviously both sad and happy. "They do. I'm going to miss them a lot."

They finished the meal in silence, and finally Kagome rose, brushing off her skirt and giving them a bright smile. "Come on," she said optimistically. "What's done is done, and I've decided. I'm not going to sit around and mope all day. Let's go back. We'll have to complete the jewel sooner or later, and I don't want to wait much longer. You ready?"

They nodded, packing away their lunch and following as she led the way back.

"Kagome," Kaede greeted the girl. "Ye have decided?"

"I'm staying here," Kagome nodded decisively.

Kaede smiled at her. "I am glad; I would have been sorry to see ye go, Kagome. Come; it is time."

They gathered together in the wide clearing Kaede had prepared. Spells had been placed around them on the trees to ensure that no one interrupt the process. Kagome took her place in front of them, holding the jewel in one hand and the final two shards in the other.

Kaede stood before her. "Do it," she nodded when they had all taken their places in a semicircle around the two mikos. Kagome looked up at the old woman, and then around the group of her friends, silently thanking them all for coming so far with her. They gazed back at her with gentle smiles, and she closed her eyes, holding up her hands and gently willing the jewel to become complete.

The light that flashed through their minds was bright and powerful. None of them moved from their place, but in their mind's eye they could each see the same thing – the completed jewel, spinning furiously before them.

Miroku jumped slightly in surprise as he heard a voice echo inside his head.

"Honorable houshi," it said softly, "you have braved many dangers and never left Kagome's side. The world owes you for your courage and strength of heart. The completed jewel holds the power to grant wishes – this I am sure you know. As is the selflessness of Kagome's heart, she has asked that it be your wishes, the wishes of her friends, that be granted. What do you desire, Miroku?"

The monk closed his eyes, and his mind raced with the possibilities, but he pushed them away. "I have Sango now," he informed the gentle voice. "All that I desire I have already. Use my wish to help one who needs it."

The voice softened. "You, also, are selfless. Your generosity shall be remembered. Farewell, Miroku."

The strange, disembodied voice moved to Sango, who replied in the same fashion. She had Kohaku back, and Miroku to be by her side as long as they both may live. She had no wants or needs that the jewel could grant. She gave up her wish, asking the voice of the jewel to use it for someone else.

Kohaku also gave up his wish; he had Sango, and that was enough for him. Kaede immediately followed his example, asking for it to use her wish to grant what the others might ask for. Kagura told the voice the same. Her freedom was all she had sought, and it was hers now. Raori and Sesshomaru refused, as well, claiming that as long as they had one another, there was nothing more the jewel could give. Takinoshi considered the offer for a moment before smiling slightly and shaking his head.

"They have all refused," he said softly. "You do not even have to tell me that; I could have guessed it. They are more than I first took them to be, and I have found friends in them all. I have all that I could wish for. Great wealth, power, and status… I want none of these. I am a taiyoukai, and I will take what I am given without complaint."

The voice passed on to Shippo, who sat on Inuyasha's shoulder. The kit listened as the voice spoke, and sat completely still, his mind immediately going back to his parents.

_No, _he told himself just as quickly. _They are gone, and I cannot bring them back. We defeated the Thunder Brothers. They can rest in peace now. I have a family here; Kagome is my mother, and I guess you could say that Inuyasha is my father. I have everything I could want. But… what about Inuyasha? _

The kitsune spoke to the voice firmly. "I don't want to use my wish. Give it to Inuyasha. He's not always been the nicest guy, but he has always been there for me, whether he'd admit it or not. Deep down I know he's not so bad. Give my wish to him."

The voice turned, at long last, to Inuyasha.

"You are lucky to have such friends," it said softly. "All of them, even the kitsune on your shoulder, have given up their wishes. The kitsune asked that they be passed to you. What would you wish for, Inuyasha?"

The hanyou swallowed. "I don't want anything for myself," he told the voice. "Kagome loves me, and that's all I could ever ask for, but… I'm a half-demon," he finished sadly. "And Kagome is human. If things stay like they are, she'll get old and die before I even start getting gray hair."

The voice softened. "That is unfortunate. What would you wish, then?"

Inuyasha clenched his fists, having already made up his mind. "Human," he said softly. "I want to become human."

The voice of the jewel strengthened with power. "So be it."

Light filled the clearing briefly, and they all shielded their eyes.

Kagome almost yelped in surprise as the voice rang through her mind. "And you, Kagome?" it said softly. "What would you wish of the jewel that you have given everything to complete?"

"Nothing," she replied quietly. "I want nothing."

The jewel pulsed slightly and the voice spoke once more. "Your friends did not use their wishes, but gave them up. The kitsune asked that they be given to Inuyasha. The hanyou has made his wish."

Kagome nodded. "I want nothing for myself," she told the voice. "Only…"

"Go on."

"The entire reason this adventure started was because of the jewel," she said quietly. "It is the cause of all this pain. I wish… I wish that the jewel would disappear, and that it would never return."

The voice had an approving tone to it. "It is done."

Light flashed once more, and they opened their eyes.

Where the jewel had sat in Kagome's hands, now it was gone. They looked at her, and she slowly turned her eyes on Inuyasha, expecting to find a full demon standing there.

Inuyasha was testing his teeth, which were no longer fangs. His hair had turned black once more, and his ears were gone from the top of his head. As they watched, stunned, he glanced at his hand, which was free of claws. "How do you humans manage it?" he asked, looking up at Sango and Miroku.

"You'll get used to it," Miroku laughed, delighted at the choice the hanyou had made.

Kagome was staring at Inuyasha, her mouth hanging open. The others glanced at one another, amused, and Kaede quietly led them away, giving Kagome and Inuyasha some privacy.

Kagome approached him, eyes wide. "Inu…yasha?" she asked hesitantly.

The hanyou-turned-human smiled at her gently. "Yeah," he nodded.

"You… you turned… human," she managed.

Inuyasha nodded. "I did," he said firmly, and she laughed, running to him and throwing her arms around his neck. He grinned, twirling her around and setting her firmly on the ground, giving her a gentle kiss that she returned with all the love in her heart.

And so our tale finally comes to an end. Inuyasha and Kagome settled down in Kaede's village. Together, they adopted Shippo and raised a family of their own. Miroku and Sango did the same, though their sense of adventure never truly left them. Kohaku didn't remain with his sister, but ventured abroad, though he came often to visit his older sister and stay a while with her family. Kouga returned to his tribe and picked up his life where he had left off, though he did come around to visit Kagome once in a while. Kagura stayed not in one place, but traveled always, moving as swift and free as the wind. Takinoshi returned to his lands, where he could live as he saw fit, though he always had an alliance with Sesshomaru and Raori, and in times of trouble that followed, he was their ally and stood with them no matter the circumstance. Sesshomaru had announced to his lands that Raori was to be his mate, and they met her warmly, seeing that she would be a wonderful Lady of the Western Lands. The west and the far south were, indeed, joined together, and for many, many years in the future, there was indeed peace.

* * *

No, it's not completely finished yet – I have one last short chapter in mind. That will be the last one, I promise, and I'm writing it right now. It's already half done! Promise! 


	15. Epilogue

The four young children laughed and chased one another around the yard. Their father watched, amused, as they played happily in the sunlight.

Their mother came out and sat down next to her husband. "It's amazing, how fast they grow," she said softly. "I still remember when I was that young."

"It is a wonderful point in life," he nodded. "They are still carefree, and life holds such promise."

Together, Miroku and Sango gazed out over their children, smiling to themselves.

Finally the children grew tired and ran to their father, sitting down on the steps around him. Sango smiled, and kissed them all good night. "Get some sleep," she told them. "Good night."

"Good night, Mother!" they chorused. She gave Miroku a kiss and went inside to sleep.

The monk smiled as his daughter climbed into his lap. "Will you tell us a story, Father?" she asked.

"What story?" he asked, smiling at the children.

"Tell us about Naraku," his son said eagerly. "The evil hanyou that you fought, back when the jewel was still split into so many pieces. Tell us about the fight."

Miroku sighed, looking out of the horizon. In the distance, he could see the Forest of Inuyasha. Somewhere inside the dark blur of trees, he knew, sat an old well, small and seemingly insignificant – the beginning of the entire adventure.

Memories chased one another through his mind. Some were sad, others happy, a few stored away in the back of his mind where he would cherish them forever. He gazed out at the forest a moment longer before turning his eyes down to his hand. He was still getting used to the feeling of the air brushing freely against it – sometimes, when he woke at night, he felt for the familiar prayer beads and was horrified when he realized they were gone. Then, and only then, would he remember that he no longer needed them. The pain that Naraku had caused, the terrible suffering, was too foul to speak of.

"No," he said quietly, his eyes dark as they stared out over the horizon. "No, children, I won't tell you the story of Naraku."

His son looked up at him. "Why, Father?" he questioned, gazing up at Miroku. "Why won't you tell us about your great adventure, and the curse he put on your hand?"

"Because, my son," the monk said with a sad smile, "it is in the past now. Those dark times are over, and now we must look to the future."

"Why, Father?" his youngest daughter asked innocently, still seated in his lap. "What's in the future?"

Miroku looked down at her, and remembered the one thing they had kept ahold of, even in the darkest times when they thought that all was lost. They had kept going, all that time, because they knew the answer to such an innocent question.

"Hope," he replied softly.


End file.
